Eurozone manufacturing PMI remains in contraction zone in December

According to data released by S&P Global, the final reading of Eurozone Manufacturing PMI for December was at 44.4, slightly up from 44.2 in November. The figure remained in the contraction zone for the eighteenth month in a row.

Output continued to slide while the pace of new orders and purchasing activities showed slight improvement.

The lowest PMI figure was recorded in Austria (42.0), followed by France (42.1), Germany (43.3), Netherlands (44.8) and Italy (45.3).

On the other hand, the highest PMI figure was recorded by Greece (51.3) and marked the highest level in four months while it was followed by Ireland (48.9) and Spain (46.2).

“Amid a relentless slump in the manufacturing sector of the Eurozone, the HCOB PMI has shown little improvement compared to November. This indicates a sustained decline in both activity and demand for manufactured goods. The sluggishness of new orders echoes the gloom, retreating almost as swiftly as the previous month. Our Nowcast model aligns with this pessimistic trend, strongly suggesting a contraction in GDP for the fourth quarter. If this holds true, it paints a bleak picture for the Eurozone and would mean that the Eurozone entered a recession in the third quarter,” Dr. Cyrus de la Rubia, Chief Business Economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank said.