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© Markit Economics Limited 2012
News Release
Purchasing Managers’ Index
®
MARKET SENSITIVE INFORMATION
EMBARGOED UNTIL: 0900 (UK Time) 20 September 2012
Markit Flash Eurozone PMI
®
Eurozone sees steepest contraction since June 2009 despite downturn easing in Germany
Flash Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index
(1)
at 45.9 (46.3 in August). 39-month low.
Flash Eurozone Services PMI Activity Index
(2)
at 46.0 (47.2 in August). 38-month low.
Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI
(3)
at 46.0 (45.1 in August). Six-month high.
Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI Output Index
(4)
at 45.5 (44.4 in August). Five-month high.
Data collected 12-19 September.
The
Markit Eurozone PMI
®
Composite Output Index
fell from 46.3 in August to 45.9 in September, according to the preliminary ‘flash’ reading, based on around 85% of usual monthly replies. The index therefore signalled that the private sector economy contracted for the twelfth time in the past 13 months, with the rate of decline accelerating slightly to reach the fastest since June 2009. The September reading rounds of the weakest quarter since the second quarter of 2009, with the average PMI reading for the third quarter at 46.2, down from an average of 46.4 in the second quarter.
Markit (Flash) Eurozone PMI and GDP
3035404550556065
1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 7 2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2
-3.0-2.0-1.00.01.02.0
PMIGDP
PMI Output Index, sa, 50 = no change
Source: Markit, Eurostat. GDP = gross domestic product
GDP, %q/q
Manufacturing and services saw similarly steep rates of decline in September. However, while manufacturing output fell at the slowest rate since April, the service sector saw the largest drop in activity since July 2009. The faster rate of decline in output reflected an accelerated rate of loss of new business – the largest monthly fall since May 2009. Manufacturing and services saw identical, steep rates of contraction, with the decline in services the largest since June 2009. Manufacturers reported a drop of marginally greater magnitude than in August, though new export orders fell at a slightly slower rate.
Core v. Periphery PMI Output Indices
203040506070
1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 7 2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2
GermanyFranceRest of Eurozone
Composite Output, sa, 50 = no change on previous month
Source: Markit
The falls in production and new orders were widespread across the single currency area, although a divergence was seen among the region’s two largest economies. France saw output and new orders both fall at the fastest rates since April 2009, with rates of decline accelerating markedly in both manufacturing and services. Germany meanwhile saw the rate at which output fell ease substantially to show only a modest decline, and the weakest since output began contracting in May. The rate of loss of new orders also eased. Services even saw a marginal upturn in activity for the first time since May, though the manufacturing sector continued to contract, led by a further sharp fall in new export