Activities in the eurozone’s industrial sector decreased in December for the seventeenth consecutive month, concluding the year in recession, a key survey by Markit Institute revealed on Wednesday.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the eurozone manufacturing sector stood at 46.1 points in December, slightly lowering the initial estimate of 46.3 points by the London-based data collection and analysis company. In November, the index was at 46.2 points.
Values below 50 points indicate a decline in activity, while those above indicate growth.
All eurozone countries recorded a decline in manufacturing sector activity, with the exception of Ireland, which recorded 51.4 points, indicating growth.
Among the largest economies in the eurozone, Germany recorded 46.0 points, France 44.6 points, and Italy 46.7 points.
Although activities in the industrial sector “may have recorded the deepest decline around October, the December Purchasing Managers’ Index survey shows that the sector is still in recession,” concluded an analyst from the London-based company IHS Global Insight.
