Eurozone economy on brink of another economic recession

A new survey indicates that the eurozone economy is not far from slipping into recession again.

The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the 18-nation bloc dropped a full point to a 16-month low of 51.1 in November 2014, down on the initial estimate of 51.4, according to the survey conducted by financial information company, Markit, whose result was released on Wednesday.

PMI is a pointer of the prosperity of an economy’s manufacturing sector and addresses such indicators as production, deliveries and employment environment.

The financial information company also said that the eurozone is expected to record a growth of only 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.

“The region is on course to see a mere 0.1-percent GDP growth in the final quarter of the year, with a strong likelihood of the near-stagnation turning to renewed contraction in the new year unless demand shows signs of reviving,” said Chris Williamson, Markit’s chief economist.

Markit also blamed eurozone’s low growth on subdued performance in Germany and France, the bloc’s two largest economies.

The survey comes as the European Central Bank will be holding its last policy meeting on Thursday.

An earlier Markit survey showed that the economic growth in eurozone has reached its nadir in the 16 months to November 2014.

Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2008. The threat of insolvency has plagued heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and Spain.

The debt crisis has forced the EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries.