(Reuters) – Eurozone activity growth picked up in April, although at a slower pace than initially forecast, as strength in services more than offset the slowdown of the manufacturing industry, show the final results of the S&P Global survey of purchasing managers on Thursday.
The composite PMI index, considered a reliable barometer of the evolution of economic activity as a whole, reached 54.1, its highest level in 11 months, after 53.7 in March. A first estimate had given it at 54.4.
April marks the fourth month in a row where this index is above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction in activity.
Services-only PMI hit a one-year high of 56.2, up from March’s 55.0 but again below the ‘flash’ estimate at 56.6.
“The services sector is doing well in the euro zone…Italy and Spain are currently the main driving forces,” said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.
Although the European Union’s order book grew at a slower pace, the data “seems to suggest continued growth in the euro area services sector in the coming months”, he added.
The new orders sub-index rose to 55.4 from 54.2, partly on the back of the recovery in demand for exports which saw its highest growth rate since July 2021.
By contrast, another survey of the manufacturing sector showed on Tuesday that manufacturing activity contracted for the tenth consecutive month.
(Reporting Indradip Ghosh in Bangalore; Kate Entringer, editing by Laetitia Volga)
Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
