Germany Composite PMI Output Index fell sharply in April - IHS Markit

According to the report from IHS Markit, the decline in business activity across Germany deepened in April, with both services and manufacturing seeing record decreases in output as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown.

The headline Flash Germany Composite PMI Output Index registered 17.1 in April, down sharply from 35.0 in March and by far its lowest reading since comparable data were first compiled more than 22 years ago. The preliminary data were based on responses collected between April 7-22. The survey response rate was not affected by shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The biggest impact of the pandemic and associated containment measures continued to be seen across the service sector, where business activity fell at the fastest rate in more than two decades of data collection as around three-quarters of firms reported a fall.

Businesses reported a collapse in demand from clients both at home and abroad in April. The rate of decline in overall inflows of new work far exceeded the previous record seen in March, with new business received from abroad falling at a similarly sharp pace. In both cases, the decline was led by the service sector.

Employment unsurprisingly fell for the second month in a row in April. Moreover, unprecedented job losses across the service sector saw the overall rate of decline surpass the previous record set in April 2009. The decline in manufacturing workforce numbers also gathered pace, reaching the fastest in almost 11 years.

Firms' expectations towards activity over the next 12 months remained deep in negative territory in April, recovering only marginally from March's series record low (since July 2012).