Eurozone's private sector activity continued to decline in May, but at a slower pace than in the previous month, flash results of a survey by Markit Economics showed Thursday.
The composite output index, that measures performance of the both manufacturing and service sectors, rose to 47.7 in May from 46.9 in April. Economists expected the reading to rise to 47.2.
The purchasing managers' index, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing sector, rose to 47.8 from April's score of 46.7. This was forecast to rise to 47. The manufacturing output index rose to a four-month high of 48.2 from 46.5 in April.
The services activity index edged up to 47.5 in May from 47 in the previous month while expectations were for a modest increase to 47.2.
New business across the region's private sector fell sharply again in May, down for the twenty-second successive month with the rate of unchanged on that seen in April, Markit said.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com