BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Germany's private sector expanded again in December with the strength in manufacturing continuing to offset service sector weakness, survey results from IHS Markit revealed Wednesday.
The flash composite output index climbed unexpectedly to 52.5 from 51.7 in November. The reading was forecast to fall to 50.4. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
The services Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 47.7, up from 46.0 a month ago and above the consensus forecast of 44.0.
The manufacturing PMI advanced to 58.6 from 57.8 in November. The score was seen at 56.4.
The economy is still on a relatively stable platform, Phil Smith, an associate director at IHS Markit said. 'However, the impending harder lockdown threatens to put pay to some of the resilience we've seen so far, with more sectors set to be impacted by the new tougher virus containment measures,' Smith added.
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