The Eurozone manufacturing PMI, compiled by research firm IHS Markit, was close to its all-time high in November. Production and new orders continue to rise at a sustained pace, with expansion rates also recovering compared to October. Combined with a record rise in new export orders, this trend has resulted in the strongest employment growth since the survey began in June 1997.
The index stood at 60.1 in November, its second all-time high after April 2000. Up very slightly on its last flash estimate (60.0), the headline index thus signals an expansion in global activity for the 53e month in a row.
Growth strengthened in all three sub-sectors covered by the survey in November, with capital goods and consumer goods manufacturers recording the strongest and weakest increases in activity respectively. In the intermediate goods sector, activity recorded its strongest growth ever.
The same PMI is at or close to record levels in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Ireland.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, comments on the latest PMI survey figures: ". PMI indices recovered in all the countries covered by the survey, with the eurozone manufacturing sector recording its strongest expansion since the Internet bubble peak more than seventeen years ago. The region's rate of economic expansion also reached its second-highest level ever, exceeded only once (in April 2000) in the twenty years of the survey. "
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