FRANKFURT (MktNews) - The purchasing managers' index for theeurozone fell for the 11th month in a row in March, hitting its lowest level sinceMarch 1999 and indicating that the pace of manufacturing sector growth continuesto slow. At the same time, the PMI input price index fell sharply in March, reported. The seasonally adjusted PMI manufacturing activity index, based ondata from seven EMU countries, fell to 51.2 in March from 52.3 in February. Thereading was at the low end of forecasts in a Market News International survey of25 analysts (median: 51.8). The activity index has declined every month sincereaching a peak of 60.7 in April last year, although the March figure shows that theeconomy continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace. In the process, the indexmoved closer to the break-even point between economic expansion andcontraction. An index level above 50 indicates that the manufacturing sector isexpanding, while a level below 50 indicates contraction. The higher the indexabove 50, the stronger sector growth. The prices index, which is not part of theoverall PMI, fell to 53.5 in March from 55.8 in February. The latest figure was thelowest reading since June 1999 and the sixth straight monthly decline followingthe latest peak of 75.9 in September last year. Among components of themanufacturing activity PMI, the output subindex fell to 52.5 in March from 54.1 inFebruary. The latest reading was the lowest since March 1999. The new ordersindex also fell in March, declining to 50.9 from 52.9 in February. This was also thelowest level since March 1999. Manufacturing employment continued to grow, butat a slower pace, with the index falling to 51.3 from 51.7 in February. Deliverytimes decreased in March, with the index up to 49.9 from 48.7 in February. Thissignals that the inventory level in some sectors is weaker than before, whichmight create room for an eventual upturn of the economy after it has bottomed out.Stocks of purchases rose to 50.4 in March from 49.2 in February. In January, theindex fell below 50 for the first time since Jan. 2000. The eurozone PMI is basedon results from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Austria and Greece and ispublished by . Overall, there can be little doubt that a significant slowdownin the eurozone economy is in progress in a contagion reaction to the U.S. slump.At the same time, price side pressures are clearly easing in the eurozone,although not that significantly yet.