Eurozone business activity remained in contraction at the end of the third quarter of the year as an increased rate of loss of orders led to a further decline in activity. The overall reduction in output was again led by manufacturing, but the service sector saw activity decrease for the second month running.
Input costs continued to rise sharply, and the rate of inflation even picked up from that seen in August, in part due to higher oil prices. Output prices, however, increased at the softest pace in over two-and-a-half years amid muted pricing power.
Forward-looking indicators suggest the economic contraction is likely to persist into the fourth quarter. Future business expectations fell sharply and are now running weak by historical standards to hint at an acceleration in the rate of decline in the months ahead. Similarly, new order inflows are falling at a faster rate than output in both manufacturing and services, suggesting companies will seek to reduce capacity in the months ahead. Likewise, backlogs of work are falling at an accelerating rate to hint at production cuts across goods and services in the months ahead. In the goods-producing sector, inventory reduction remains widespread, suggesting no immediate relief to the intense destocking cycle that has exacerbated the recent downturn in customer demand.
However, as well as subduing output growth as we head into 2024, these factors should also play a role in diminishing pricing power and inflationary pressures, both in manufacturing and services.
Output fall gathers pace
The HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index, compiled by S&P Global, recorded 47.1 in September according to the flash estimate, up marginally from 46.7 in August but still signalling a solid monthly decline in business activity. Output has now fallen for four consecutive months.
The August reading is indicative of GDP falling at a quarterly rate of 0.4%, but combined with the August and July readings means GDP likely contracted by 0.3% over the third quarter as a whole.
For the second successive month, output falls were seen in both manufacturing and services. That said, the rate of contraction in services eased slightly from August and was still much softer than that seen in manufacturing. The reduction in manufacturing production was unchanged from the rapid pace seen in August. Barring a brief period of growth during the opening quarter of the year, euro area manufacturing output has decreased continuously since the middle of 2022 with recent declines being the steepest recorded since the global financial crisis.
Central to the latest reduction in business activity was a further deterioration in demand, as highlighted by a fourth successive monthly decrease in new orders. Moreover, the fall in September was the most pronounced since November 2020 and – baring pandemic months – the steepest since September 2012.
Manufacturing new orders contracted rapidly again, but the acceleration in the overall rate of decline was centred on the service sector, where the drop in new business was the sharpest since the pandemic. In fact, excluding months affected by COVID-19 restrictions, the fall in services new orders was the largest since May 2013.
The data therefore continue to signal a marked cooling of the demand revival seen in the spring for consumer-oriented services such as travel and tourism, which had boomed in early 2023 amid loosened COVID-19 containment measures compared to the prior three years. Note also that new orders continued to fall at a sharper rate than output is currently being reduced, which – in the absence of a sudden revival of demand – suggests firms will come under pressure to reducing operating capacity in the months ahead.
Job market remains largely stalled
Sharp falls in new orders meant that companies often turned to work on outstanding business in order to maintain activity levels. As such, backlogs of work decreased markedly again during September, with the latest depletion the most pronounced since June 2020. Barring pandemic months, the decline was the steepest since 2012, reflecting the steepest fall in services backlogs since 2012 and the largest falling manufacturing backlogs since the global financial crisis.
Eurozone businesses also signalled a waning of confidence in the year-ahead outlook at the end of the third quarter. Future sentiment dipped sharply to the lowest since November last year. Optimism waned across both monitored sectors, with manufacturing sentiment only just in positive territory.
The combination of spare capacity and reduced confidence in the outlook meant that companies were again cautious in their approach to hiring. Although employment rose marginally in September, the rate of job creation was the joint-second slowest in the current 32-month run of growth.
A fourth successive monthly reduction in manufacturing workforce numbers compared with a slight increase in services employment.
As well as scaling back staffing levels, manufacturers in the eurozone also cut their purchasing activity sharply and reduced their holdings of both purchases and finished goods. The fall in stocks of finished goods was the sharpest in two years.
Reduced demand for inputs meant that suppliers were able to speed up deliveries, with vendor lead times shortening for the eighth consecutive month. The rate at which deliveries quickened was marked, albeit the least pronounced since February.
Pricing power falls
There were differing trends in terms of inflation in September as a sharper rise in input costs contrasted with a weakened rate of output price inflation.
Input costs increased at the fastest pace in four months, albeit at a pace that remained well below the average seen over the past three years. Inflation was driven by the service sector, where prices were up sharply amid higher wages and rising fuel costs. Manufacturing, on the other hand, posted a seventh successive monthly drop in input costs.
Despite the steeper pace of input cost inflation, a weakening demand environment meant that companies increased their selling prices to a lesser extent than in August. In fact, the latest rise in charges was only modest and the softest since February 2021. Manufacturing output prices fell at a marked and accelerated pace, while services charge inflation eased to a 25-month low.
Measured across both sectors, the overall rate of selling price inflation has now fallen to a level consistent with consumer prices rising at a rate below 3% in early 2024, down from the 5.2% rate seen in August.
National trends
Looking at growth across the euro area, the euro area’s two largest economies – Germany and France – were the key drivers of the overall downturn in activity during September. Germany saw output decrease for the third month running and at a solid pace, albeit one that was slightly softer than seen in August. German manufacturing production declined at the fastest rate since the opening wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, while services activity was down marginally.
The contraction in France was more severe than in Germany, with activity decreasing to the largest extent since November 2020. Excluding pandemic affected months, the September contraction in output was the sharpest in over a decade. Rates of decrease quickened across both manufacturing and services.
The rest of theeurozone saw business activity remain broadly stable in September. Although manufacturing output decreased for a sixth month running, the fall was the softest since April. Meanwhile, services activity increased slightly, and to a greater extent than in August.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.
She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.
The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.
The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.
The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.
Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.
Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
