© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A steel worker in heat protection gear is silhouetted against the fire of a furnace at the steel plant of ThyssenKrupp in Duisburg, Germany, July 26, 2023. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay//File Photo
The HCOB German Flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index , compiled by S&P Global, fell to 45.8 in October from September's 46.4, below the 46.7 forecast by economists.The composite PMI index tracks the services and manufacturing sectors that together account for more than two-thirds of the German economy, Europe's biggest.
Business activity in the services sector was unexpectedly back in contraction territory after slight growth the month before, with the reading falling to 48.0 from 50.3 in September. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 50.0. The manufacturing PMI rose slightly for the fourth month in a row, to 40.7 from 39.6 in September, in line with analysts' expectations, though still deep in contraction territory.