- Markit
Manufacturing activity in Germany, the Euro zone's biggest economy, decreased the pace of growth for the month of September. Preliminary PMI indicator for the production sector of the economy came in at 52.5 points, down from 53.3 points in August. Moreover, it registered a miss from an average expectation, which amounted to 52.8 points. Despite that, activity remains in the expansion territory, being that the reading stays above the 50-point threshold, which divides expansion from contraction. In addition to that, activity of the services industry continued to rise in September, but also at a slower than forecasted pace. Services PMI slid to 54.3 points this month, down from positively revised 54.9 points in August. At the same time, both readings above 50 points indicate to solid economic growth in the third quarter of this year. GDP advance should be supported by healthy labour market and increasing personal consumption.
Meanwhile, in France both manufacturing and services PMI have surprisingly surged in September. Production sector in growing again as the PMI rose from 48.3 to 50.4 points, well ahead of any estimates. Services industry's activity is currently staying at 51.2 points, up from 50.6 points on a monthly basis.
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