The Purchasing Managers' Index for the entire private German sector, an important thermometer, fell from 51.3 in March to 49.7 in April, which was also worse than economists' average expectations. An index below 50 is considered to indicate a shrinking economy.
Above all, it was the service sector that lost momentum – a sector that had previously kept economic growth going.
The French economy shows an even worse Purchasing Managers' Index.
And for the entire eurozone, the composite index fell to 50.1 in April, down from 50.9 in March.
