By William L. Watts
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Private-sector business activity in the 17-nation euro zone contracted for a seventh consecutive month in August but at a marginally slower pace than in July, the Markit preliminary composite purchasing managers' index for the region indicated on Thursday. The index rose to 46.6 from a reading of 46.5 in July. Economists had forecast an unchanged reading. A figure of less than 50 indicates a contraction in activity. The services PMI reading fell to 47.5 from 47.9 in July, while the manufacturing PMI rose to 45.3 from 44.0. The contraction continued across the euro zone, with national indexes for the core countries of Germany and France both signaling shrinking output. "Taken together, the July and August readings would historically be consistent with GDP falling by around 0.5% to 0.6% quarter-on-quarter, so it would take a substantial bounce in September to change this outlook," said Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit.
