Business activity in the euro area continued to fall during November, according to provisional PMI® survey data, amid a further solid decline in new orders. Both output and new business have now decreased in each of the past six months. That said, in each case the rate of contraction was softer than in the previous survey period. Spare capacity as a result of waning demand and relatively muted confidence in the outlook led companies to lower their staffing levels for the first time since the start of 2021, while purchasing activity and inventories were also scaled back. The rate of input cost inflation hit a ... (full story)