Growth in Germany's private sector slowed to a 9-month low in April, a survey showed on Friday, as an upturn in the manufacturing industry was not enough to make up for a slowdown in services. Markit's flash composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) which tracks the manufacturing and services activity that accounts for more than two-thirds of the German economy, fell to 53.8 in April from 54.0 in March. That was comfortably above the 50 line that separates growth from contraction, as it has been for 36 months.
Growth in manufacturing accelerated to a three-month high to reach 51.9 and manufacturers saw their output rise at the strongest rate since January. That was helped by the strongest rise in new export orders so far this year, mainly from China, Southern Europe and the United States, Markit said. "Expectations improved slightly but were down from earlier in the year, which is surprising given that one would hope that the ECB's stimulus measures would have an impact," said Markit economist Chris Williamson, referring to the European Central Bank's ultra-loose policy stance.
"Maybe those measures have not yet filtered through or maybe they have been offset by other factors. There could be uncertainty about a Brexit creeping in or political uncertainty in the region as a whole," he added. Services growth, however, was at its weakest in six months, with jobs being created in that sector at the slowest rate for a year.
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