The eurozone economy is contracting at its fastest rate in three years as a steep decline in manufacturing begins to spread to services, a key survey said Wednesday.
Data from the HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey published by S&P Global fell to 47 in August from 48.6 in July. A figure below 50 indicates contraction. The figure is the lowest since November 2020, when the world was thrust into an economically crippling shutdown because of the covid pandemic.
“Considering the PMI figures in our GDP nowcast leads us to the conclusion that the eurozone will shrink by 0.2 percent in the third quarter,” said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.—AFP
