Markit's Eurozone composite PMI weaker than expected

Markit's flash Eurozone PMI composite output index for February came in at 52.7 compared with 53.6 the previous month.

This was below consensus expectations for a reading of 53.3 and marked a 13-month low.

The flash Eurozone services PMI activity index fell to 53 in February from 53.6, also a 13-month low, and weaker than the 53.3 expected by analysts.

The flash manufacturing PMI for the region, meanwhile, slipped to 51 from 52.3, which was lower than the 52 reading expected.

Markit said France saw a return to contraction as business activity fell – albeit marginally – for the first time since January of last year, declining in both manufacturing and services.

In Germany, output growth held up relatively well, albeit with the pace of expansion hitting a seven-month low as a solid rise in service sector activity was countered by the weakest rise in manufacturing output since November 2014.

Pantheon Macroeconomics said: “A noticeable miss on the downside, chiefly as a result of weakness in German manufacturing.

“These data add to the slightly more downbeat picture on the economy in the beginning of the year, and will increase the ECB’s resolve to ease policy further next month.”