Phil Smith, Principal Economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the Germany Manufacturing PMI survey, commented: "The PMI showed the recent slowdown in the manufacturing sector extending into the penultimate month of the year. "With the car industry still struggling and geopolitical uncertainties affecting client demand, manufacturers reported a deepening decline in new orders, and export sales in particular.

"Output levels are now teetering on the brink of contraction. November's small increase in production was the weakest since the upturn began more than five-and-a-half years ago and was due in large part to firms catching up on backlogs of work. With backlogs shrinking at an accelerated rate, manufacturers will need inflows of new work to recover to maintain growth”.