Mubasher: Provisional estimates for the Eurozone indicated that economic activity growth slowed down in December to the weakest pace in more than four years.

New business inflows almost stagnated, while hiring rate slid to two-year trough and business optimism deteriorated.

The IHS Makit Eurozone purchasing managers’ composite index (PMI) came in at 51.3 in December down from 52.7 in November, according to the IHS Markit survey data on Friday. This is the lowest level since November 2014.

“While some of the slowdown reflected disruptions to business and travel arising from the ‘yellow vest’ protests in France, the weaker picture also reflects growing evidence that the underlying rate of economic growth has slowed across the euro area as a whole,” ,” IHS Markit’s chief economist Chris Williamson said.

As output modestly expanded, growth of new order inflows almost stalled in December, registering the lowest level since December 2014. New export orders fell for the third straight month, marking the steepest drop since the survey series started four years ago.

With the weaker order book, job creation fell under pressure in December, with a monthly gain in the rate of hiring.

The PMI gauging activity in the manufacturing sector recorded the lowest level in 34 months at 51.4 in December, compared with 51.8 in the previous month.

Manufacturing remained subdued during the month, as producers posted the second smallest gain in four years, although factory production growth picked up slightly.

New orders for goods fell for the third month in a row, at the slowest rate in four years, as optimism among manufacturers retreated to six-year low, amid indicators suggesting a weakening trend in production.

The flash PMI for service business activity recorded a 49-month low of 51.4 in December, compared to 53.4 in the preceding month.

Growth in the service sector dropped sharply, but remained above manufacturing activity.

New work inflows and optimism in the sector also retreated to four-year low.

By 9:34 am GMT, the EUR/USD pair fell 0.60% to $1.1293.