Europe continues to post weak economic results, putting the recovery at risk and leaving the door open to recession.
Specifically, the slowdown in economic activity in the eurozone accelerated last month due to further weakening of demand in the services sector.
As specified by Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist of the Commercial Bank of Hamburg, October is confirmed as the third month in a row in which commercial activity has suffered a severe blow.
With new business in steep decline, it's not painting a rosy picture for the foreseeable future.
The last quarter of the year started off on the wrong foot for the Eurozone, bringing the region closer to recession and putting even more pressure on the ECB to ease monetary policy.
The economic crisis worsens in Europe: the latest data The HCOB PMI, compiled by S&P Global and considered a good guide to the general economic health in the Eurozone, fell to 46.5 in October from 47.2 in September, the value lowest since November 2020.
The result is below the threshold of 50 which separates growth from contraction for the fifth consecutive month and corresponds to a preliminary estimate.
The PMI for the services sector did not go beyond 47.8.
The official note said the latest survey data indicated worsening demand conditions faced by service providers, amid a decline in new business volumes at the fastest pace since January 2021.
This also reflects greater curbs from non-domestic customers, as evidenced by new export business declining the fastest in more than two and a half years.
read also Why another rate increase is necessary in Europe What is observed in the euro zone is a real headache according to the analysis of Cyrus de la Rubia, who commented on the data by highlighting: "prices continue to rise, but they do not hand in hand with the question as they normally do.
While economic activity entered recessionary territory, price indices remained high.
There's a name for this, stagflation.
The million dollar question is: how long will we be stuck in this strange stagflation zone? PMI data is signaling a bit of a wait.
For the ECB this means that it is not yet time to cut interest rates.” The general vision of service SMEs in Europe is truly not very encouraging.
Spain stands out with a score of 50.
France, however, is the worst performing country in this group, followed by Germany.
Meanwhile, Italy is close to Germany in terms of poor performance.
“All in all, eurozone GDP could collapse in the fourth quarter,” de la Rubia said.
read also In Europe, economic weakness is a fact It should be remembered that manufacturing activity took a further step back in October, according to a survey last week which showed that new orders contracted at one of the fastest rates since data was first collected in 1997.
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