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Eurozone manufacturing economy contracts sharply in March
The global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) led to a notable deterioration in euro area manufacturing sector operating conditions during March. Output, new orders and purchasing all fell sharply, whilst jobs were cut markedly, and supply-side constraints intensified at a record pace. Confidence about the future sank to a historical low. After accounting for seasonal factors, the IHS Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI® registered below the 50.0 no-change mark for a fourteenth successive month and fell considerably from February’s oneyear high of 49.2 to 44.5 in March. That was below the earlier flash reading and the ... (full story)