By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) - The downturn in Germany's manufacturing sector, which accounts for about a fifth of Europe's biggest economy, continued to gather pace in August, a survey showed on Monday.
The HCOB final Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for German manufacturing fell to 42.4 in August from 43.2 in July, above a preliminary flash estimate of 42.1 but remaining below the 50 level that separates growth from contraction.
"August saw an even steeper drop in incoming orders, killing off any hope for a quick bounce back," said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.
An accelerated drop in new orders in August was the main factor weighing on the headline index. Inflows of new work posted the steepest decline since November last year, the report showed.
August saw faster reductions in both backlogs of work and employment, pointing to spare capacity at factories, according to the report.
Goods producers were therefore less optimistic about their growth prospects for the year ahead.