The mood in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is becoming increasingly gloomy. The composite PMI fell to 44.7 in August, down from 48.5 in the previous month. It was significantly worse than the market’s expectations, which were 48.3 according to Bloomberg’s combined forecast.
It is mainly within the service sector that a marked decline is noticeable, from 52.3 to 47.3. Traditionally, a figure above 50 usually indicates growth in the economy.