The Eurozone is Officially in a Recession

There’s been a debate on whether the U.S. economy is in a recession. The pro-recession crowd says that it’s obvious we are. The anti side tells us the numbers keep saying no. Now the Financial Times says the Eurozone is now in a recession:

The eurozone has fallen into recession, with industry particularly badly hit by the fall-out from global economic turmoil, results of a closely watched survey indicated on Tuesday.
Private sector output in the 15-country region contracted in September for the fourth consecutive month, according to eurozone purchasing managers’ indices. The pace of decline was the fastest since the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, with manufacturing faring worse than services.
The latest data indicated that, even if the crisis on Wall Street has yet to have a direct impact on eurozone economies, global economic storms have pushed the region into a technical recession – two quarters of contracting gross domestic product.
The eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index – covering services as well as manufacturing – fell from 48.2 in August to 47 this month. A figure below 50 is meant to indicate a contraction in activity.

Posted by on September 24th, 2008 at 10:20 am


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.