Wednesday 4th March 2020 - 09:37 (GMT)
Both European and British service sector readings for February missed market expectations despite posting moderately bullish numbers. In the UK, services PMI went down to 53.2 in February from 53.3 in January and slightly below the market expectation of 53.4. This was primarily due to a decline in new export orders amid weaker demand from Asia, particularly those based in mainland China due to the coronavirus outbreak.
It was a similar story in Germany as services PMI was revised lower to 52.5 in February from a preliminary estimate of 53.3 and below January's five-month high of 54.2. The latest reading pointed to the weakest pace of expansion in the service sector since last November, as inflows of new business rose only marginally due to the steepest decline in new export business since September 2014.
And finally, Eurozone services PMI was also revised slightly lower to 52.6 in February from a preliminary estimate of 52.8. Incoming new business increased solidly and was driven by domestic demand as export sales declined at the fastest pace for five months.
