Eurozone composite PMI slips after renewed manufacturing downturn
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Friday 21 Nov 2025
(Sharecast News) - Preliminary estimates of private sector activity across the eurozone pointed to slight softening in growth in November as continued strength in services was met with a renewed downturn in manufacturing.
Friday's flash reading of the composite purchasing managers' index from S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) slipped to 52.4 this month, down from 52.5 in October and in line with market expectations.
October saw the fastest growth in business activity - measured by levels over the neutral 50-point mark - since May 2023.
The service sector PMI edged just 0.1 point higher to 53.1 but still notched an 18-month high, with new orders rising strongly and a notable improvement recorded in France.
However, the manufacturing PMI weakened to 49.7, down from 50.0 the month before and a five-month low for the index. The eurozone manufacturing sector has struggled to keep momentum after recording its first month of growth in August (50.7) for the first time in more than three years.
According to the survey, the ability of firms to secure new business "continued to be hampered by weakness in international demand", with new export orders falling again.
This weakness in new orders resulted in a reluctance among firms to hire additional staff, with employment levels remaining unchanged over November. Meanwhile, input costs recorded their sharpest increase since March, with both services and manufacturing cost inflation picking up.
Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at HCOB, said eurozone manufacturing remains "marooned in a no-man's land of directionlessness". The sector remains "several months, and possibly even several quarters" away from an sustained expansion, he said.
Meanwhile, the acceleration of cost inflation complicates matters for the European Central Bank, de la Rubia said, though slowing sales price inflation has countered that somewhat. "There is no reason to tighten monetary policy. We expect interest rates to remain unchanged in December," he said.
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