The recovery of the service industry helps ease the downward trend of business activity in the Eurozone in December

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, a survey released on Monday showed that the decline in business activity in the Eurozone eased this month, as the service sector returned to growth, offsetting the long-term contraction in manufacturing. The preliminary composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the Eurozone rose from 48.3 in November to 49.5 in December, but still remains below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction. The market had previously predicted the index would drop to 48.2.

Jack Allen-Reynolds, an analyst at Capital Economics, stated: "The Eurozone's December PMI survey indicates that the economy is contracting. Although its predictions for GDP growth have become less reliable since the outbreak of the pandemic, other evidence also suggests poor economic performance."

The PMI for Germany, the largest economy in Europe, showed a slight easing in the decline of the German economy in December, but business activity has contracted for the sixth consecutive month.

France's situation is similar, with the country's service sector further contracting, although the pace of contraction has slowed.

Due to the Eurozone's economy being weighed down by political instability and the threat of a new round of trade wars from the United States, the European Central Bank cut interest rates for the fourth time this year last week and opened the door for further easing measures.

In the UK, outside the EU, businesses are laying off workers, raising prices, and becoming more pessimistic about the outlook at the fastest pace in nearly four years this month, largely attributed to the new government's tax increase policies.

The preliminary service sector PMI for the Eurozone in December rebounded from 49.5 last month to 51.4, while the market had previously predicted it would remain unchanged from November.

However, the service sector employment index in the Eurozone fell from 51.0 to 50.1 in December, indicating that companies are keeping their workforce stable, suggesting they do not expect economic activity to improve quickly.

The manufacturing PMI in the Eurozone has remained below 50 since mid-2022, stabilizing at 45.2 in December, slightly below the market expectation of 45.3. The output index fell from 45.1 to 44.5.

Paolo Grignani from Oxford Economics stated: "The manufacturing crisis seems to have no end in sight, with the production sub-index at its lowest level in a year, despite the overall index remaining stable."

Demand in the Eurozone manufacturing sector further contracted, with the new orders index dropping from 43.4 to 43.0, indicating that a recovery is not expected in the short term.

However, overall sentiment has improved. The composite future outlook index rose from 56.1 to a four-month high of 57.8