The main reasons for such dynamics will be the continuing difficulties in the production orders sector of the leading countries of the region and the weak pace of recovery of business activity in the service sector. “The main obstacle still comes from manufacturing, where the order situation has deteriorated further,” lamented Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at the Hamburg Commercial Bank.

In September, the composite Business Activity Index (PMI) in the eurozone rose to 47.1 points from an almost three-year low of 46.7, which was recorded in August. Despite the slight increase, the indicator fell almost three points short of the 50 point level that signals the beginning of the transition to economic growth. At the same time, economists surveyed by Reuters expected an even greater decline in September – to 46.5.

In the service sector, the situation with business activity in the eurozone turned out to be slightly better. In September, PMI in this sector was at 48.4 points, showing a slight increase of 0.5 points compared to the August value, although analysts had predicted a drop in the index to 47.7.

The region’s manufacturing PMI remains well below 50, dipping to 43.4 in September. Low business activity in this sector has persisted in the eurozone since mid-2022. At the same time, due to lower household spending, the PMI of new services firms fell to its lowest level since February 2021 at 46.4 points, although it stood at 46.7 in August.