Eurozone business growth dips close to a two-year low in September
- 8 years ago
Business activity in the eurozone expanded this month at its weakest rate since the start of last year.
The latest surveys of the region’s businesses found a big split between manufacturers, which are buoyant with increasing new orders, and the service sector which is struggling.
The business surveys produced a mixed picture for the eurozone’s two biggest economies with France improving and Germany slowing.
#Eurozone economic growth at 20-month low in September as #PMI falls to 52.6 (Aug: 52.9) https://t.co/W0fnUPNZ6g pic.twitter.com/yrBmYjB8Wr— Markit Economics (@MarkitEconomics) September 23, 2016
French business activity hit a 15-month high, while Germany’s private sector growth was at a 16-month low, suggesting the powerhouse of the currency bloc may have lost momentum.
The results add to the feeling among economists that the European Central Bank’s extraordinary stimulus measures in recent years are unable to achieve much more.
The bank itself has been preaching for some time that additional government economic reforms are needed on top of low interest rates and money printing.
One thing that might cheer the ECB is that the business surveys showed firms stopped cutting prices for the first time in a year, which could help get inflation up near the its two percent target ceiling.
The latest surveys of the region’s businesses found a big split between manufacturers, which are buoyant with increasing new orders, and the service sector which is struggling.
The business surveys produced a mixed picture for the eurozone’s two biggest economies with France improving and Germany slowing.
#Eurozone economic growth at 20-month low in September as #PMI falls to 52.6 (Aug: 52.9) https://t.co/W0fnUPNZ6g pic.twitter.com/yrBmYjB8Wr— Markit Economics (@MarkitEconomics) September 23, 2016
French business activity hit a 15-month high, while Germany’s private sector growth was at a 16-month low, suggesting the powerhouse of the currency bloc may have lost momentum.
The results add to the feeling among economists that the European Central Bank’s extraordinary stimulus measures in recent years are unable to achieve much more.
The bank itself has been preaching for some time that additional government economic reforms are needed on top of low interest rates and money printing.
One thing that might cheer the ECB is that the business surveys showed firms stopped cutting prices for the first time in a year, which could help get inflation up near the its two percent target ceiling.