EU manufacturing, services contract for third straight month

ECB president Draghi predicts eurozone to slip into 'mild recession'

ZURICH - European services and manufacturing output contracted for a third month in November as the worsening debt crisis pushed the region closer to a recession.

A eurozone composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries rose to 47.2 from 46.5 in October, London-based Markit Economics said in an initial estimate on Wednesday. Economists forecast a drop to 46.1, according to the median of 17 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.