Germany Data Signals Economy Slowdown

Economic research firm Markit issued its June data for the services sector and business outlook.

The title of the document tells most of the story:

Service sector output stagnates in June, while business outlook deteriorates markedly

On a detailed basis:

Adjusted for seasonal factors, the Markit Germany Services Business Activity Index dropped from 51.8 in May to 49.9 in June, to signal a broad stagnation of output levels. The latest reading was below the earlier flash reading of 50.3 and ended an eight-month period of continuous service sector expansion. Anecdotal evidence attributed the stagnation

And,

Meanwhile, service providers’ assessment of the business outlook deteriorated markedly since May. The month-on-month fall in business sentiment was the greatest since November 2002, and this brought the index into negative territory for the first time in 2012 to date.

It total, the data show that the recession in Europe has undermined Germany growth considerably. This may well be exacerbated by a drop in economic activity in China and the U.S.–two of Germany’s largest trading partners

Douglas A. McIntyre