According to the flash report from HCOB, business activity in the private sector of the eurozone improved slightly in October, reaching a 2-month high, but remained in contraction territory. Output was scaled back in response to a weakening demand environment, with new orders down for the fifth consecutive month. Meanwhile, business confidence dropped to an 11-month low.
The eurozone composite PMI output index rose in October to 49.7 points from 49.6 points in September. An index value below 50 points indicates a reduction in activity in the sector. Economists had expected the index to rise to 49.8 points. The services PMI fell to 51.2 (8-month low) from 51.4 in September, while the manufacturing PMI rose to 45.9 points (5-month high) from 45.0 points. Economists had expected the services PMI to rise to 51.5 points and the manufacturing PMI to be 45.3 points.
HCOB said that new orders in the private sector recorded a fifth consecutive monthly decline, but the rate of decline was almost unchanged compared to September. Meanwhile, new export orders declined for the 32nd consecutive month and at the fastest pace so far this year, equal with that recorded in September. The data also pointed to the third monthly decline in employment in the private sector. The drop in staffing levels was the sharpest since the end of 2020. The picture was particularly bleak in Germany, where jobs were cut to the largest degree since the opening wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Companies also continued to deplete backdogs of work in October. Moreover, the latest solid reduction in outstanding business was the most marked since January. Business confidence fell again in October (for the 5th month in a row), and reached its lowest level since November 2023. As for the inflationary situation, input costs increased at the slowest pace since November 2020, with output charge inflation similarly easing to a 44-month low