Investing.com - Germany’s private sector output continued to expand in September, but growth in the manufacturing sector slowed to a 15 month low, according to data released on Tuesday.
Research group Markit reported that the preliminary German manufacturing purchasing managers’ index declined to a 15 month low of 50.3 from 51.4 in August. Economists had expected the index to tick down to 51.2.
The country’s services PMI improved to a two month high of 55.4 from 54.9 in August, and ahead of forecasts of 54.6.
The German composite output index, which measures the combined output of both the manufacturing and service sectors came in at a two month high of 54.0 this month, up from 53.7 in August.
“September’s flash PMI results paint a mixed picture of the health of the German economy at the end of the third quarter”, Oliver Kolodseike, economist at Markit said.
“Total private sector output continued to rise at an above average rate and employment growth picked up again, attributed in both cases to a strong service sector. However, new order growth slowed for a fourth month running and was the weakest in one year, suggesting that activity growth might slow in the near-term”.
Following the release of the data, the euro was slightly higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD at 1.2860 compared to 1.2856 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 was down 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.78%, London’s FTSE 100 slumped 0.74%, while Germany's DAX was down 0.51%.