Business conditions continued to worsen across Germany's manufacturing sector at the start of the third quarter, the latest HCOB PMI® survey conducted by S&P Global showed, with goods producers recording deepening declines in output, new orders and factory gate prices. Amid rapidly shrinking backlogs of work, expectations towards future production were at their lowest for eight months and there was a fall in employment for the first time in two-and-a-half years. The sharp drop in prices charged by manufacturers not only reflected growing competitive pressures, but also the pass-through of lower input costs, which ... (full story)