Manufacturing operating conditions in the eurozone continued to strengthen during August, maintaining a run of expansion that now stretches to 62 months. However, posting 54.6, unchanged from the earlier flash-estimate, but down from July's 55.1, the final IHS Markit Eurozone PMI pointed to the slowest growth since November 2016.

Commenting on the final Manufacturing PMI data, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit said: "Eurozone factories reported a further solid production gain in August, but prospects dimmed further as growth of new orders hit a two-year low and worries about the outlook deepened. "The slowdown in demand compared to the surging pace of expansion seen earlier in the year is being driven primarily by export orders rising at the slowest rate for nearly two years. Some of the slowdown in exports can be attributed to the appreciation of the euro since earlier in the year, but companies are also reporting signs of demand cooling and risk aversion intensifying".