At 51.5, down from 51.9 in October, the flash estimate of the Markit Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index remained above the 50.0 no-change level for a fifth successive month in November, but signalled a modest easing in the rate of expansion for the second month running.

Output growth in manufacturing stabilised at a robust rate and remained stronger than service sector expansion, which eased to the weakest since August.

Trends were also varied by country. The composite PMI covering both manufacturing and services in Germany rose to its highest since January, signalling increasingly robust growth and a seventh successive monthly expansion.

In contrast, the comparable index for France fell to its lowest since June, signalling a renewed decline after just two months of fractional growth.
Elsewhere across the region, output rose for the fourth month in a row, but the rate of increase was the weakest seen over that period.

Eurozone private sector new orders rose for the fourth consecutive month, with the rate of increase unchanged on the very modest pace seen in October. Growth of manufacturing new orders accelerated to the strongest since August, fuelled by the largest rise in new export orders since May 2011.

However, new business expansion in the service sector slowed for the second month in a row.

Private sector employment in the eurozone fell for the twenty-third consecutive month, with the rate of job losses accelerating marginally for the second successive month. Manufacturers reported the smallest drop in payroll numbers since July, while employment in the services sector fell at the strongest rate since August.

By country, staffing numbers rose for the third time in five months in Germany, but fell at the steepest rate for six months in France. Elsewhere, the rate of job shedding eased to the second-lowest seen for over two years.
The volume of outstanding business fell marginally again, as a steepening rate of decline in services was partly offset by the largest rise in manufacturing backlogs since May 2011.

Input costs rose for the sixth month running, rising at the fastest rate since September of last year. The strengthening in inflation was reflected in both manufacturing and services.

Output prices meanwhile continued to fall, dropping to the greatest extent for three months. Prices charged for goods showed the steepest monthly increase since August 2011, but charges levied for services showed the strongest fall for four months.

Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit said: "Some encouragement must be gleaned from the PMI signalling expansion of the eurozone economy for a fifth successive month in November, but the average reading over the fourth quarter so far is signalling a very modest 0.2% expansion of GDP across the region, and it looks like momentum is being lost again.

"The fall in the PMI for a second successive month suggests that the ECB was correct to cut interest rates to a record low at its last meeting, and the further loss of growth momentum will raise calls for policymakers to do more to prevent the eurozone from slipping back into another recession.

"Attention will also be focused on the signs that deflationary forces may be gathering. Prices charged for goods and services fell at a faster rate in November, despite firms' input costs rising at the steepest clip for over a year.

"Any improvements were largely confined to Germany, where the PMI has notched up the best growth since mid-2011 so far in the fourth quarter, signalling a 0.5% increase in GDP. France, on the other hand, showed further signs of being the 'sick man of Europe' with output showing a renewed decline and raising the risk that GDP could fall again in the fourth quarter, constituting a renewed recession. Meanwhile growth outside the 'big two' slowed to near-stagnation."