Business activity in the German private sector grew at the slowest rate for almost three-and-a-half years in October, according to the latest PMI® survey data, with both the manufacturing and service sectors showing notable losses of momentum at the start of the fourth quarter.

October saw the IHS Markit Flash Germany Composite Output Index slip from 55.0 in September to 52.7, its lowest reading since May 2015. The drop in the index, to a level below its long-run average (53.4), reflected weaker increases in both services business activity and manufacturing output. In the case of the former, growth eased to a five-month low (although was still solid overall), while goods production expanded at a marginal rate that was the weakest in almost four years.