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IHS Markit’s Eurozone purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a closely watched gauge of private sector output, crashed to 31.4 in March from 51.6 in February. The figure, well under the 50 no-change mark, indicates a huge contraction in the economy.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit said: “Business activity across the Eurozone collapsed in March to an extent far exceeding that seen even at the height of the global financial crisis.”
Output in Germany and France, the euro area’s two biggest economies, plunged in March. The French private sector slumped to a record low after the domestic economy was all but shut down and normal life suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In Germany, services sector output crashed to a record low. This drove private sector output as a whole to its lowest level since 2009.
IHS Markit’s France purchasing managers index (PMI) – a gauge of private sector performance – fell to 30.2 in March from 52.0 in February. This was a record low and far undershot analysts’ average forecast of 39.8. A score of under 50 indicates contraction.
The German private sector PMI plunged from to 37.2 in March from 50.7 in February, its lowest since February 2009. The services sector crashed to 34.5, the lowest on record.
Economists that helped compile the surveys said the preliminary data indicated the Eurozone’s two biggest economies are set for deep contractions. [...]