The headline seasonally adjusted final IHS Markit Germany Services PMI Business Activity Index registered 53.3 in November, unchanged from the earlier 'flash' estimate but down from 54.7 in October. Despite having slipped to a six-month low, the index remained well above the 50.0 nochange mark and signalled a solid rate of growth that was in line with the average over the series history (since 1997).

Commenting on the PMI data, Phil Smith, Principal Economist at IHS Markit said: "It was a solid growth performance for the service sector in November but, alongside the slowdown in manufacturing, the softer pace of expansion brought the Composite Output PMI down to a near four-year low. “GDP is widely expected to recover in the fourth quarter following technical distortions in Q3, though the further slippage of the PMI indicators does raise question marks over the strength of any rebound and how much momentum the economy will carry into the New Year”.