Price outlook more nuanced than in FR/DE; rest of EZ econ growing faster than FR/DE

• Eurozone manufacturing surprised 0.3 points to the upside and services just 0.1 point.

Highlights from the press release:

• "The rate of input cost inflation hit a six-month high midway through the final quarter of the year, with the pace of increase in selling prices also quickening despite ongoing reductions in new orders. Inflation was mainly centred on the service sector as prices in manufacturing continued to decline."
• "Eurozone companies recorded a further increase in input costs, often as a result of higher wages in the service sector. The overall rise was the fastest since May and broadly in line with the average since the series began in 1998. The overall picture masked marked divergences between the two monitored sectors, however. While services input prices continued to increase rapidly, a further sharp decrease in input costs was seen in manufacturing, with the pace of reduction marginally quicker than that seen in October."
• "These divergent trends were also evident with regards to selling prices, which increased in services but fell in manufacturing. Factory output prices were down for the seventh straight month as firms passed on cost savings to customers amid sharply falling demand, while services charge inflation intensified to a three-month high. Overall, output prices increased solidly in November, with the rate of inflation ticking up from October."
• "The overall reduction in business activity was again mainly a symptom of falling new orders. As has been the case in each month since June, companies in the eurozone reported a decline in new business. The latest reduction was marked, but the softest in four months amid weaker falls in both manufacturing and services. New export orders, including intra-euro area trade, continued to decrease rapidly."
• "Continuing the recent trend, the overall downturn in the eurozone was driven in large part by the two largest economies –Germany and France. While output also decreased in the rest of the euro area in November, the rate of decline was only modest. Moreover, the rest of the eurozone continued to record job creation, contrasting with the picture in France and Germany.