By William L. Watts
Updates to correct direction of German PMI.
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- The Markit euro-zone composite purchasing managers index fell to 49.3 in February from 50.4 in January, coming in below an earlier, preliminary estimate of 49.7, data showed Monday. A reading of less than 50 indicates a contraction in private-sector business activity. "At this stage, our best estimate is that the region's GDP will have contracted by 0.1% in the first three months of the year. Perhaps more worryingly, the ongoing steep declines signaled by the weak surveys for Italy and Spain suggest that a return to growth for these countries still looks to be a long way off," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit. On a national level, Germany's composite PMI fell to a two-month low of 53.2 in February. Italy's PMI dropped to 44.7, while Spain dropped to 42.9 -- both figures are two-month lows.
