Manufacturing activity in the eurozone shrank by more than initially thought in August.
The Markit Manufacturing PMI shows factories in Germany put the brakes on. The news from France was also disappointing. Activity there contracted for the first time in two years.
Markit says new orders fell across all 17 countries in the zone, while job creation grew at its slowest rate for almost a year.
RBS economist Jacques Cailloux says that if German growth is slowing it is bad news across the whole continent.
The sharpest contraction was in Greece, where it was faster than in the previous month, a disturbing trend for an economy already in deep trouble.
Outside the eurozone, factory activity also shrank in Britain.
