“Shocking numbers.” Manufacturing declined in the euro zone during November

The Eurozone manufacturing sector declined further in November, due to strong declines in factory orders, production, purchasing activity and inventories.
According to a survey conducted by Standard & Poor’s Global on Monday, the Hamburg Commercial Bank’s final manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 54.2 points during November.

The manufacturing sector in the euro area

This compares to 46 points last October, while the chief economist at the Hamburg Commercial Bank, Cyrus de la Rubia, said, “These numbers look terrible.”
“It looks as if the eurozone manufacturing slump will never end,” Cyrus added. “With new orders declining at an accelerating pace, there is no sign of recovery in the near term.”

The data showed a decline in factory production at a faster pace, with the investment goods sector recording the worst performance, while the data revealed a sharp and rapid decline in new orders.
The manufacturing PMI in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, remained unchanged at 43 points, lower than initial estimates of 43.2 points.

Manufacturing in European countries

While the industrial purchasing managers’ index in France fell to 43.1 points last November, compared to 44.5 points last October.
In Italy, the index fell to 44.5 points last November, compared to 46.9 points last October.
On the other hand, manufacturing activity in Spain continued to expand, albeit at a slower pace, reaching 53.1 points last November, compared to 54.5 points last October.