Eurozone economy contracts further

Germany, the EU's top economy and Europe's export powerhouse, looks headed for imminent recession, according to a closely watched survey Monday that pointed to a deepening eurozone contraction.

There are "growing signs of an impending recession in the eurozone's largest economy," S&P Global Market Intelligence said as it released its eurozone purchasing managers' index for October.

The PMI for the 19-nation area fell to 47.1, down from 48.1 a month earlier -- its fourth consecutive drop and that fastest decline in nearly two years -- as soaring inflation and high energy prices bit deeper.

In Germany, the PMI dropped to 44.1, from 45.7 in September. A reading below 50 signals an economic contraction.

The downward pressure on eurozone economic activity underlined the woes thrown up by Russia's war in Ukraine, which has crimped energy supplies.

Germany's reading was the lowest since initial business shutdowns in Germany when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Both manufacturing and services in Germany were showing accelerated rates of shrinkage, though that had yet to feed through into jobs-shedding, the survey showed.

German businesses were "deeply pessimistic" about the year-ahead outlook.

In France, the second-biggest economy in the EU, the economy was stagnating, with a PMI of 50 compared with 51.2 in September.