Markit's Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was at 46.2 points in November, up from October's 45.4 points. In line with the earlier flash estimate of 46.2, euro zone PMI rose to an eight-month high in November. However, the Markit Final Eurozone Manufacturing PMI was below the neutral 50 points for the 16th successive month.
Contractions were signalled for almost all of the nations covered by the survey, Ireland being the sole exception. Although the downturn in Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Greece eased, Italy and the Netherlands saw steeper rates of contraction. Greece, nonetheless, remained bottom of the PMI league table.
Manufacturing output in the euro area contracted for the ninth successive month in November, although the rate of decline was the weakest since April of this year. New export orders declined for the 17th successive month, largely due to reduced demand from within the euro area and weaker global market conditions. However, the rates of contraction in both total new orders and new export business eased to eight-month lows.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said, "The ongoing steep pace of manufacturing decline suggests that the region's recession will have deepened in the final quarter of the year, extending into a third successive quarter. With official data lagging the PMI, the rate of GDP decline is likely to have gathered pace markedly on the surprisingly modest 0.1 percent decline seen in the third quarter."