In November this year, the recovery in the euro zone manufacturing sector accelerated again. Markit's Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 51.6 in November, up from 51.3 in October and from the earlier flash estimate of 51.5, rising to its highest level since June 2011.
Among the nations covered by the survey, France, Greece and Spain were the only ones to register readings below 50, while Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Netherlands saw improved PMIs. In the PMI rankings, Netherlands climbed to first place, overtaking Austria which slipped to second. In Greece, manufacturing output rose for the first time in over four years. Meanwhile France slipped to the bottom of the PMI league table and was the only nation to report faster declines in both output and new orders.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said, "Overall, manufacturing across the region is enjoying its best performance for two-and-a-half years, but the pace of growth remains only modest. The data suggest that output is rising at a quarterly rate of only around 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter so far."