Economic growth has shown scant sign of returning to the eurozone in August with private sector output contracting for the third consecutive month, an influential survey revealed on Thursday.

Purchasing managers’ indices suggested the 15-country zone remained on the brink of recession, with the performances of Germany and France deteriorating noticeably in August. However, improvements in Spain and Italy led to a modest improvement in the region’s composite index, covering industry and services, from 47.8 in July to 48 this month.