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EU business slide.

 S&P Global’s flash eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index, a key gauge of business conditions for the manufacturing and services sector, fell 1 point to 47.1, figures showed yesterday. That is its lowest level since November 2020 and the fourth consecutive month below the crucial 50 mark separating growth from contraction. One of the few bright spots in the survey was that companies in all sectors reported a slight easing of cost pressures, price growth and supply chain constraints. However, prices charged for goods and services still rose at the sixth fastest rate since such data started in 2002.


Jobs growth increased marginally from October but remained low compared with the past 18 months. Following a few months of falling price pressure in manufacturing and services, the October print shows an overall stabilisation said Jens Eisenschmidt, chief European economist at Morgan Stanley. However, German businesses, at the hub of Europe’s energy crisis, reported that manufacturing and services contracted, pulling the country’s PMI down 1.6 points to 44.1, its lowest since May 2020.

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  1. Andrew30 October 2022 at 12:14

    I don't know how companies are reporting a slight easing of cost pressures when everything seems to be more expensive than ever. Every 2-3 weeks there is a hike for prices on certain items. And this has happened since the beginning of this year.

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