- Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit
The Euro zone's services sector lost momentum for the second month in a row in February, led by a particularly weak performance in France. The Euro bloc's services PMI dropped to 53.3 in February, the lowest level since January 2014. The composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services sectors, decline to a 12-month low of 53.0. France's services sector was the worst performer, with the corresponding gauge falling to 49.2, down from 49.8, hitting the lowest reading since November 2014. Markit reported that French hotel and restaurant sector was particularly weak in the wake of the Nov.13 Paris attack. Meanwhile, Germany's services sector improved slightly, with the services PMI climbing to 55.3 last month, up from 55.0 in January. Germany's economy, the Euro zone's powerhouse, remained on a steady yet modest growth path last year as it expanded by 0.3% of GDP in the final quarter of 2015. On an annualized basis, the Euro zone's number one economy grew 1.3% in the reported period, compared with the 1.7% rate seen in the July-September period.
A separate report showed Euro zone's retail sales weakened in January, climbing 0.4% on a monthly basis. On an annual basis, retail sales in the 19-nation bloc saw a 2.0% increase during the reported month, after an upwardly revised the 2.1% growth in the previous month
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