The monthly round of Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) figures from across the globe made for painful viewing this morning, and none more so than in Spain.

The Markit PMI for the country fell dramatically to 38.3 points in September, a drop of all most four points on its August figure and, far more significantly, the lowest reading for any European Union country since the poll was introduced in 1998.

The bad news didn’t stop there. Retail sales in Spain fell by almost six per cent in August, a drop that has led to workers being laid off at record rates as the country careers inexorably to its first recession in almost 15 years.

Spain already has the eurozone’s highest unemployment rate and the virtual collapse of the construction industry in the country – the cog that has kept their economy functioning since the early 1990’s - appears to signal that worse could lie in wait.