Weak global growth weighs on German manufacturing in February, PMI shows

Economic activity in the Eurozone´s largest economy slowed down in February, with a buoyant services sector helping to offset weak manufacturing, according to the results of some of the most widely-followed surveys.

Markit´s so-called composite purchasing managers´ index for both sectors dropped from 54.5 in January to 53.8, a seven-month low, according to a preliminary reading from the survey compiler.

Analysts had penciled in a reading of 54.5.

A gauge for the country´s factory sector dropped from 52.3 to 50.2, a 15-month low (consensus: 51.9), while a barometre for the services sector in fact rose from 55.0 to 55.1, revealing a slight acceleration in activity (consensus: 54.7).

Oliver Kolodseike, economist at Markit, called attention to the fact that Monday´s reading marked a second consecutive month of deceleration and how hiring had eased to its weakest in almost a year.

Panellists had commented that weak global demand had acted as drag on growth, Kolodseike pointed out.