Eurozone: S&P Manufacturing PMI drops to 46.6 in October vs. 47.8 expected

• Economic activity in the eurozone's private sector continued to contract in early October.
• EUR/USD stays under modest bearish pressure, trades below 0.9850.

S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for the eurozone slumped to 46.6 in October's flash estimate from 48.4 in September, coming in weaker than the market expectation of 47.8 and revealing ongoing contraction in the business activity.

In the same period, the Services PMI edged lower to 48.2 from 48.8 as expected and the Composite PMI declined to 47.1 from 48.1.

Commenting on the data, "the eurozone economy looks set to contract in the fourth quarter given the steepening loss of output and deteriorating demand picture seen in October, adding to speculation that a recession is looking increasingly inevitable," noted Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Market reaction

The EUR/USD stays on the backfoot after these data releases and was last seen losing 0.3% on the day at 0.9830.