Euro zone business activity declines for fifth month in November

Euro zone business activity declined for a fifth month in November. A fifth consecutive monthly falling output suggests that the Euro zone economy was sliding into a mild recession as consumers are cutting spending amid surging inflation.

S&P Global’s final composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the Euro zone, seen as a good guide to economic health, nudged up to 47.8 in November from October’s 23-month low of 47.3. Unemployment in the region dipped to 6.5 per cent in October. The European Central Bank has been raising interest rates to tame price rises.