Gloomy eurozone output points to rate cut German private sector output shrank in April and eurozone business activity contracted further, a closely watched business survey showed on Tuesday, raising the likelihood that the European Central Bank will decide to cut interest rates next week. The Markit flash purchasing managers" composite index for Germany, Europe's biggest economy, fell to 48.8 in April, a six-month low and a drop below the 50.0 level that separates growth from contraction. For the eurozone as a whole, the PMI remained at 46.5, unchanged from a month ago, indicating that activity continued to contract at the same rate. There is a relatively high correlation between PMI surveys and gross domestic product figures, which take longer to compile, making the surveys a closely watched indicator by policy makers. Even the most hawkish members of the ECB's governing council have indicated they would consider an interest-rate cut from 0.75 per cent if macroeconomic indicators continued to worsen. Markit also released a flash reading for France's April PMI, which showed that the pace of contraction slowed to 44.2 in April from 41.9 in March. The eurozone PMI represented the 19th fall in activity in the past 20 months. The data for Germany was particularly discouraging, which has been a rare relative bright spot in the recession-bound eurozone despite its GDP contracting in the final quarter of 2012. "The survey is signalling a worrying weakness in the economy at the start of the second quarter, with signs that the downturn is more likely to intensify in coming months than ease," Chris Williamson, Markit chief economist, said. He added that the PMI data suggested eurozone GDP fell 0.2-0.3 per cent in the first quarter and, based on the April reading, pointed to a fall of 0.4 per cent in the second quarter.