Eurozone PMI Services was finalized at 45.4 in January, down from December’s 46.4. PMI Composite was finalized at 47.8, down from prior month’s 49.1. Among some member states, Germany PMI Composite dropped to 7-month low of 50.8. France at 47.7, Italy at 47.2, Spain at 43.2 and Ireland at 40.3, were all below 50.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit said: “The eurozone economy endured a predictably tough start to 2021… especially in the service sector…. A contraction of GDP therefore looks likely in the first quarter, though on current trends this should be modest in comparison to the falls seen in the first half of 2020.
“However, with virus containment measures likely to constrain euro area economies in the coming months, and potentially well into the second quarter given the slow vaccine roll-out, the focus will be on the need to sustain supportive fiscal and monetary policymaking for some time to come, notably to prevent further intensifying job losses in the hardest hit sectors, such as hospitality, tourism, travel and retail.
