Business activity in the euro zone recorded in May the weakest growth in the last 15 months, reported the London financial services company IHS Markit, warning that the weak export order inflow could stall growth further in the coming months.

“Weak growth is to a certain extent linked to an unusually high number of public holidays in May, but the risks are seemingly showing growth will be muted, and could slow down further,” the chief business economist at IHS Markit, Chris Williamson, said.

Slowing down of exports weighed down industry growth and orders the most, and so May analysis signals the slowest growth in new export orders in nearly two years, partly linked to the strengthening of the euro and reports of a weaker imports demand in crucial markets, especially the USA, Williamson said.

“Certain signals lead to a conclusion that the weak growth period is not over yet,” he added.

Production in the last months has slowed down significantly, but the slowing down trend in orders was even more pronounced.

Production grew faster than new orders in each of the last six months, leading to a conclusion that production companies will experience pressure in the next months to halt production and hiring unless demand goes up, he said.

“It is no wonder that the production companies’ expectations in the coming period have sunk to the lowest level in the last 20 months, emphasising a gloomy economic picture,” Williamson said.

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