German service providers enjoyed a further month of solid output growth, with the latest expansion the most marked in six months. Increased activity was driven by new business wins which continued to expand strongly. With business outstanding rising for the first time since June, companies were encouraged to raise their workforce numbers further during the month.
Moreover, sharply rising input costs led to the strongest rate of charge inflation in four-and-a-half years as service providers passed higher input prices on to their clients. The final seasonally adjusted Markit Germany Services PMI Business Activity rose from October’s 54.2 to a six-month high of 55.1 in November and thereby signalled stronger growth of business activity. The index has now posted above the crucial 50.0 no-change mark for three-and-ahalf years and latest survey results signalled that companies in the Transport & Storage sub-sector enjoyed particularly solid growth. Panel members largely attributed increased output to new business wins.
The final Markit Germany Composite Output Index – which measures the combined output of the manufacturing and service sectors – posted 55.0 in November, little-changed from October’s 55.1 and indicative of solid growth of private sector output.
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Craig Erlam
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