Investing.com - The German economy looked set for a stagnation in the first quarter as private sector activity fell to a six-year low in March.
IHS Markit said that its flash reading its German composite output index, which measures the combined output of both the manufacturing and service sectors, fell to 51.5 from 52.8 in the prior month.
"Uncertainty towards Brexit and US-China trade relations, a slowdown in the car industry and generally softer global demand all continue to weigh heavily on the performance of the manufacturing sector, which is now registering the steepest rate of contraction since 2012," Phil Smith, principal economist at at IHS Markit said in a press release.
Manufacturing PMI slumped to 44.7 from 47.6, while services PM inched down to 54.9 from 55.3.
Elsewhere in the bloc, France's private sector data pointed to a contraction in the economy. IHS said its French Markit Composite index fell to 48.7 from 51.5 in March.