Germany, France, and Italy led slump in European factory output last month – while UK is also weakening

The eurozone’s manufacturing recession has deepened, driven by a sharp slowdown in the region’s largest economies.

Data provider S&P Global has reported that the euro area’s manufacturing sector deteriorated at a faster pace during November.

“These numbers look terrible. It’s like the eurozone’s manufacturing recession is never going to end. As new orders fell fast and at an accelerated pace, there’s no sign of a recovery anytime soon. According to our nowcast, the manufacturing sector’s output is going to decrease by 0.7% in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter. This slump is likely going to drag into next year.

“The downturn is widespread, hitting all of the top three eurozone countries. Germany and France are faring the worst, and Italy is not doing much better. By main industrial grouping, it’s the capital goods sector which is taking the biggest hit. In an interesting development, Spain’s companies in the capital goods sector were able to show accelerated growth. This might be linked to the heavy floods in Spain, where an estimated 100,000 cars were destroyed and need to be replaced. But this boom most probably won’t last.