Eurozone Private Sector Re-Enters Contraction Zone

(RTTNews) - The euro area private sector fell back into the contraction territory in the penultimate month of the year as business activity dropped the most since January amid a renewed fall in services output, final data from S&P Global showed on Wednesday.

The HCOB final composite output index fell to 48.3 in November from 50.0 in October. The flash reading was 48.1. The decline in overall activity was driven by the service sector, which registered the first decline in output since the beginning of the year. Factory output decreased for the twentieth consecutive month, marking the longest sequence of contraction in the survey history.

The HCOB services PMI posted below the 50.0 no-change mark for the first time since January. Falling to 49.5, from 51.6 in October, the index signaled the first decrease in service sector output for ten months.

The European Central Bank is in a tough spot, Hamburg Commercial Bank Chief Economist Cyrus de la Rubia said.

The economy is struggling and really needs some monetary support. On the other hand, inflation is stubbornly high, as highlighted by significant wage increases in the third quarter, the economist noted.

"So, the ECB is likely to avoid aggressive rate cuts and instead might carefully lower rates by 25 basis points on December 12," said de la Rubia.

Data showed that big-three economies, namely Germany, France and Italy all registered contractions in business activity.

Germany's private sector activity contracted at the fastest pace in nine months in November. The composite output index slid to 47.2 from 48.6 in the previous month. The score was slightly below the flash score of 47.3. At the same time, the services PMI posted a nine-month low score of 49.3, down from 51.6 a month ago and the preliminary reading of 49.4.

Elsewhere, France's private sector logged its worst decline since January, the survey showed. The composite output index decreased to 45.9 from 48.1 in the previous month. The flash reading was 44.8.

At 46.9, the services PMI dropped from 49.2 a month ago. However, this was above the initial estimate of 45.7.

Italy's private sector activity declined at the fastest rate in 13 months, as services joined manufacturing in registering decline. The composite output index came in at 47.7 compared to 51.0 in October.

Services activity logged its first fall so far this year in November. The services PMI declined to 49.2 from 52.4 in October. The score was forecast to drop moderately to 51.1.

Meanwhile, Spain sustained growth in November, albeit at a reduced rate as the adverse impact of flooding in some regions limited the pace of expansion. The HCOB composite output index fell to 53.2 in November from 55.2 a month ago. The services PMI remained above the crucial 50.0 no-change mark. The index posted 53.1, down from 54.9 in October.