Europe's Economy Shrinks More Than Anticipated
The continent isn't pulling out of recession
European services and factory output contracted more than initially estimated in December, adding to signs a recession in the region may extend into this year.
A composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries was revised down to 47.2 from an initial estimate of 47.3 published on Dec. 14, London-based Markit Economics said in a report today. That compares with 46.5 in November. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The euro area is struggling to pull out of its second recession in four years as governments cut spending to combat the sovereign debt crisis and consumers curtail spending. Economists foresee a further drop in gross domestic product in the final three months of 2012 and the European Central Bank forecasts a contraction of 0.3 percent in 2013.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?