Preliminary data provided by IHS Markit showed that in November the growth of business activity in the eurozone accelerated, retreating from the six-month low reached in October.
The headline PMI Composite Output Index rose to 55.8 in November from 54.2 in October, however, at the moment the average index value for the 4th quarter is 55.0, which is lower than the average of the 3rd quarter (58.4).
The catalyst for the growth in activity in November was an increase in inflationary pressure - company costs and average selling prices for goods and services recorded record rates of increase. Meanwhile, in November, the second highest rate of job creation in more than 21 years was recorded. However, growing concerns about the spread of COVID-19 and problems with the supply chain caused future output expectations to fall to the lowest level in 9 months.
If we evaluate the change in activity by sector, in November the services sector again surpassed the manufacturing sector (for the third month in a row). In addition, activity in the service sector grew at the fastest pace in three months. Activity growth also accelerated in the industrial sector, but it remained the second weakest in the last 17 months.