Eurozone manufacturing PMI drops in September

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in the manufacturing sector of Eurozone dropped monthly in September to hit the lowest level since October 2012, a London-based global data company said on Tuesday.

The index went down to 45.7 from 47 the last month, IHS Markit reported.

"Operating conditions in the euro area’s manufacturing economy deteriorated in September to the greatest degree in just under seven years,” said the company.

The eurozone PMI has been posting below the 50.0 no-change mark for the last eight months in a row, it noted.

In September, all of three market groups -- investment, intermediate and consumer goods -- saw a deterioration in operating conditions.

The deteriorating operating conditions in Germany -- with the respective PMI hitting its lowest level since June 2009, led to the decline in the eurozone.

Austria, Spain, Italy and Ireland also recorded PMI readings below 50.0 level.

"Meanwhile, France barely grew whilst there was only modest growth in the Netherlands. Greece remained the best-performing of all countries, despite the rate of expansion slipping to a three-month low," the report said.

It also underscored that Brexit process and the U.S.-China trade war affected confidence in the region negatively.

"Except for the Netherlands, confidence was lower across all surveyed nations during September," it added.

Chris Williamson, the chief business economist at IHS Markit, said the manufacturing sector of the zone "went from bad to worse" in the month.

"The PMI survey indicating the steepest downturn for nearly seven years and sending increasingly grim signals for the fourth quarter," he underlined.

Williamson also said that jobs cut at the fastest rate since 2013 and this caused deteriorating risks in the labor market which may hit households and the service sector.