Eurozone manufacturing output and new orders both expanded for the eleventh successive month in May, despite growth easing to the lowest since last November in both cases.
Only the Netherlands reported a faster expansion of output, while none of the nations for which May data were available saw improved new order growth.
The slower rate of increase in new business meant that backlogs of work fell for the first time since last September.
Lower selling prices were also reported in Austria and Greece, which experienced a ten month and a two month low respectively.
However, these were offset by higher output charges in Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, meaning that eurozone manufacturing selling prices increased on average for the first time in three months.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit said the latest results will “inevitably add to the clamour for policymakers to provide a renewed, substantial boost to the region’s economy and ward off the threat of deflation.”
He added that the case is not “clear-cut”, explaining that the decline still leaves the manufacturing economy growing at a quarterly pace of approximately 0.5% in May.
Mr Williamson said that the data should be looked at alongside the services economy, where flash PMI data showed the pace of expansion lifting to the fastest for almost three years in May.
“Taken together, the PMI surveys are pointing to a second quarter GDP increase of approximately 0.5%,” he said.
“The survey also highlights some encouragingly strong national performances, especially among previously-troubled member states such as Spain and Italy, where productivity improvements and competitive pricing have helped boost sales.
“These gains suggest that long-term structural reforms are helping to lift demand.”
The pace of expansion, which has eased in Germany, could be linked to concerns over the situation in Ukraine, or could be down the timing of Easter, according to Mr Williamson.
He said that the slowdown of in the region’s largest economy with no clear cause is the biggest concern about the eurozone’s growth trajectory.
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