Remember that while US economic data is usually annualized for rates of change, European data tends not to be. So a .4% quarterly decline is a .4% decline
in that quarter. Not a (roughly) .1% decline as it would be here...
With manufacturing dropping to its lowest level since February 2013, the survey suggests UK GDP could shrink by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to Markit, which compiles the data in its purchasing managers’ index (PMI).
The composite index – which measures both services and manufacturing – fell from 52.4 in June to 47.7, an 87-month low. Anything below 50 signals a contraction in activity.
