Germany's private sector growth slowed in August as contraction in manufacturing deepened further, flash data from Markit Economics showed Thursday.
The composite output index dropped to 54.9 in August from 55.7 in July. The current sequence of continuous activity growth now stretches to 16 months.
The service sector remained the driving force behind the overall expansion in August. Although the services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 56.4 from 56.7 in July, it remained above the expected score of 55.5.
Meanwhile, the manufacturing PMI dropped to 52 in August from 52.4 a month ago. The index was expected to fall more sharply to 51.5.
"The PMI data available for the third quarter so far point to a swift recovery in GDP from the ground lost during the second quarter," Oliver Kolodseike, an economist at Markit, said.
"However, the concern is the divergent trends within the economy, with the manufacturing sector losing further momentum," the economist said.
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