Europe has problems

The German economy is slowing down for the fourth month in a row and the decline was greater than feared. September's composite index for Germany fell to 47.2, the lowest level in seven months. An index value below 50 indicates reduced activity in the industry.

German industry stands out. For manufacturing in Germany, the index fell to 40.3, the lowest level since September 2023. In August, the index stood at 42.4. For the services sector, there was a decline in the purchasing managers' index to 50.6, from 51.2 in August. At the same time, leading economic institutes in Germany lower the growth forecast for 2024 and 2025.

For the eurozone as a whole, the composite index for both services and manufacturing for September fell to 48.9, the lowest level since January this year and down from 51.0 in August.