The final data provided by HCOB showed that activity in the eurozone manufacturing sector continued to contract in October, but the pace of contraction was the weakest since May. Contractions in production, sales and employment eased, although business confidence slipped to a one-year low.
Manufacturing PMI rose to 46.0 points in October, compared with 45.0 points in September. The index remains below 50 points, which indicates a reduction in activity in the sector, since July 2022. This marks the longest downturn since survey data were first collected in 1997. Economists had expected the index to rise to 45.9 points. As for the eurozone countries, Spain demonstrated the strongest-performing manufacturing economy. Greece also continued its expansion sequence. However, contractions in Germany and France remained sharp.
HCOB said that the factory output fell again in October, with the pace of contract was solid and broadly in line with the average seen over the current 19-month sequence of decline. Meanwhile, new orders recorded the softest drop since June. Purchasing activity also continued to decline in October, with pre-production stocks shrank at a sharp rate. The number of people employed fell again in October, and the rate of job shedding held close to September's 49-month record. Meanwhile, backlogs of work also declined last month. As for the inflationary situation, input costs declined again in October, while selling prices recorded the sharpest drop in 6 months. Looking ahead, eurozone manufacturers’ growth expectations were at their weakest in a year.