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German New business falls for first time in a year-and-a-half
Activity growth in Germany’s service sector was maintained at the end of the year, but the amount of new business placed with companies fell for the first time in 18 months. Service sector employment increased further and helped to reduce backlogs of work . Meanwhile, cost inflation slowed to only a marginal pace that was the weakest in almost five years, but charges rose for the first time in three months. The seasonally adjusted Markit Germany Services Business Activity Index remained above the no - change mark of 50.0 in December, signalling a further rise in service sector output at the end of the year. At ... (full story)