Euro area economy is flirting with, but might technically avoid, a contraction - ANZ

Commenting on today's macroeconomic data releases, "The euro area final composite PMI rose to 50.6 (from 50.2 in September) aided by modest rises in both the manufacturing and services PMIs," noted Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group analysts.

Key quotes

"The data imply that in aggregate the euro area economy is flirting with, but might technically avoid, a contraction. The 1.3% m/m rise in German factory orders for September was welcome but doesn’t suggest a recovery is on the cards just yet."

"On sale: Euro area retail sales rose 0.1% m/m in September, a touch better than expected. August’s figures were revised up to 0.6% m/m (from 0.3% prior). The annual rate of increase in September rose to 3.1% y/y (from a revised 2.7% in August) and was the strongest annual growth rate in 24 months. The data imply that private consumption in Europe is holding up despite the severity of the manufacturing downturn."