Markit's Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to a 34-month low in April to 45.9 points, down from 47.7 in March and below the earlier flash estimate of 46.0.
The weak PMI number reflected a drop in eurozone manufacturing production for the second consecutive month, as new order inflows declined at the fastest pace since December. Austria was the only nation to see production rise in April. Manufacturers reported weak demand from both domestic and export clients - with intra-eurozone trade volumes also heavily impacted.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said, "Manufacturing in the eurozone took a further lurch deeper into a new recession in April, with the PMI suggesting that output fell at a worryingly steep quarterly rate of over two percent. Even German manufacturing output showed a renewed decline, attributed by many firms to weak demand from southern Europe. As such, it is hard to see where growth will come from in coming months, unless export demand picks up strongly from countries outside of the eurozone."