A measure of global economic growth fell to a 14-month low in December amid a slowing of expansion in both the the manufacturing and service sectors.
The JPMorgan Global All-Industry Output Index — compiled by JPMorgan and Markit from Purchasing Manager Index data — posted a 52.3 in December, down slightly from 53.1 in November. The level of the index has fallen in each month since hitting a near three-and-a-half year high in July.
“The latest PMI data point to a further easing in the rate of global economic growth at the end of last year,” David Hensley, director of global economics coordination at JPMorgan, said in a news release. “The underlying dynamics of the survey are weaker across the board, with indices for output, new orders, backlogs and employment all tracking lower.”
“Price pressures remain contained, with cost inflation subdued and output charges unchanged over the month,” he added.
The United Kingdom and Ireland remained at the top of the global output ranking table in December, with the United States continuing its end-of-year slowdown. Although the growth rate of economic activity in the U.S. remained above the global average, it eased for the sixth straight month to its weakest in the current 14-month sequence of expansion.
In the eurozone, solid increases in economic activity in Germany, Spain and Ireland contrasted with contractions in France and Italy. Elsewhere, output contracted for the third successive month in both Russia and Brazil.
A separate index covering the service industry also fell to a 14-month low, coming in at 52.3 compared with November’s 53.4.
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