Manufacturing in Europe Weakens; German Output Stagnates

Arthi Gupta
23 Nov, 2011
New York City

Euro area private sector activity contracted and French business sentiment index fell in November. Industrial new orders in the euro area fell whereas Norway''''s jobless rate remained steady in September.

[R]3:00 PM Frankfurt – Euro area private sector activity contracted and French business sentiment index fell in November. Industrial new orders in the euro area fell whereas Norway''s jobless rate remained steady in September.[/R]

Euro Area Confidence Deteriorates, Output Declines

Confidence among euro-zone consumers declined in November to reach its lowest level since August 2009.

Preliminary estimate from the European Commission showed that the confidence indicator for euro area fell to -20.4 in November from -19.9 in October.

Consumer confidence indicator for the European Union also declined to -20.7 in November from -20.2 in October.

Separately, euro-zone private sector activity contraction eased in November, flash data from Markit Economics showed Wednesday. The composite output index was at 47.2 in November, up from 46.5 in October.

The flash manufacturing Purchasing Managers'' Index fell to 46.4, its lowest level since July 2009. The index was at 47.1 in October.

German Private Sector Output Stagnates

German private sector activity stood close to stagnation in November, survey results from Markit Economics showed today.

The composite output index, that measures activity in both manufacturing and service sectors, remained steady at 50.3 in November.

The manufacturing purchasing managers'' index fell to a 28-month low of 47.9 in November from 49.1 in October. The services activity index rose to a 4-month high of 51.4 in November from 50.6 recorded in October.

Euro-zone Orders Fall

Industrial new orders in the euro-zone dropped a seasonally adjusted 6.4% on a monthly basis in September, reversing the 1.4% rise in August, revised down from 1.9%, data released by statistics office Eurostat showed on Wednesday.

In EU27, new orders fell 2.3% on a monthly basis in September.

French Business Confidence, Manufacturing Drop

The French business sentiment index fell to 95 in November from 97 in October, survey data from the statistics office Insee showed.

Separately, French manufacturing activity contracted more than estimated in November, the survey results from Markit Economics showed.

The flash purchasing managers'' index for the manufacturing sector fell to a 29-month low of 47.6 in November from 48.5 in October. The services activity index climbed to 49.3 in November from 44.6 in October.

However, the composite output index, that measures activity in both manufacturing and services sectors, rose to 48.7 in November from 45.6 in October.

Norwegian Jobless Rate Steady

Norway''s unemployment rate remained stable in September, data released by Statistics Norway showed.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September, which is the average of the three months ending October, was 3.3%. The rate was unchanged from June that represents the average of May to July period.

On average, the number of unemployed persons increased by 1,000 in the August to October period.