Eurozone HCOB Composite PMI declines to 51.9 in October vs. 52.7 expected

HCOB Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in the Eurozone declined to 51.9 in October's flash estimate from 53.1 in September, showing that the business activity expanded at a softening pace. This print came in below the market expectation of 52.7.

In this period, the Manufacturing PMI fell to 52.4 from 52.9, while the Services PMI declined to 51.7 from 53.

Assessing the survey's findings, "the Eurozone economy starts the fourth quarter with businesses reporting further robust growth, the flash PMI being consistent with GDP growing at a 0.3% quarterly cadence," noted Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"While that’s below the pace enjoyed in September it is still among some of the best performances seen over the past three years," Williamson added.

Market reaction to Eurozone PMI data

EUR/USD struggles to gain traction and trades in negative territory, slightly below 1.1200 following the PMI data.