Manufacturing in the Euro-zone Rises for Third Month in a Row in November

Manufacturing in the Euro-zone rose for the third month in November according to the diffusion index based on a survey of the purchasing managers of some 3000 companies by Henley-on-Thames, England based NTC Research for Reuters Group, PLC. (A value of the index above 50 indicates expansion, while one below 50 indicates contraction.) In November the overall index rose to 52.19, a rise of 1.72% from October and 5.61% from November, 2002.

November marked the fourth month of expansion for the leading components of the overall index, new orders and output . New orders were especially strong, rising 3.36% in November and output rose 2.33%. Among the lagging indicators, employment, though still in a contractionary phase became less so in November, rising 1.15% and is now 4.78% above the corresponding month of 2002. The declines in delivery times and inventories may be due to the adjustments that normally occur in the months that follow a move from contraction to expansion in new orders and output.