Growth in Eurozone’s services sector activity slows more than initially estimated in August

The report from IHS Markit revealed on Friday that activity in Eurozone’s services sector saw a slight loss of growth momentum in August after hitting a 15-year high in the previous month.

According to the report, the IHS Markit Eurozone PMI Services Business Activity Index came in at 59.0 in August, down from 59.8 in July and a flash estimate of 59.7.

Economists had forecast the indicator to stay unrevised at 59.7.

According to the report, growth in new business intakes slowed in August, but it was notably stronger than seen on average over the series history. Meanwhile, the rate of jobs growth matched that seen in July, which was the strongest since September 2018. Price trends diverged in August, with a stronger gain in costs coinciding with a softer rise in selling charges. Input prices increased at the fastest pace in 13 years.

From a country perspective, Ireland service providers continued to outperform their euro-area peers during the latest survey period, while those in France registered the weakest expansion in service sector activity. However, with the exception of Italy where growth was flat, rates of expansion decelerates in all nations from July.

The IHS Markit Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index decreased to 59.0 in August from 60.2 in the previous month, being revised down slightly from the flesh estimate of 59.5. The latest reading still indicates one of the fastest rates of growth seen in the past 15 years.