Euro Area Services Pmi

The IHS Markit Eurozone Services PMI was down to 54.7 in October 2021, from 56.4 in the previous month and below market consensus of 55.5, a preliminary estimate showed. It was the lowest reading for six months, pointing to cooling services sector growth. Weak service sector performances were recorded for travel, tourism and recreation, reflecting concerns regarding COVID-19, while strong growth was seen for healthcare, as well as media, banking and non-banking financial services. Inflows of new orders increased at slightly faster pace, while backlogs of work continued to rise solidly and the pace of job creation accelerated to the fastest since 2007. On the price front, input costs rose at the sharpest rate since September 2000, while selling price inflation hit a record high. Looking ahead, business confidence strengthened in October.