Eurozone economic recovery continues to gather pace
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 05 Apr 2023
(Sharecast News) - The economic recovery in the eurozone continued to gather pace in March, although the picture was mixed across countries, according to a survey released on Wednesday.
S&P Global's composite output index rose to a 10-month high of 53.7 in March from 52.0 in February. This was below the preliminary estimate of 54.1 but marked the third month in a row that it came in above the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion.
Meanwhile, the final eurozone services business activity index came in at 55.0 in March, also a 10-month high, from 52.7 a month earlier. This was the fastest rate of growth since May 2022 but was a touch below the initial estimate of 55.6.
Joe Hayes, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "The eurozone economy continues to bounce back from the lull we saw at the back-end of 2022 and the latest PMI survey will add fresh conviction to the view that, at least for now, the euro area is clear of a recession.
"March's increase in economic activity mainly reflected strong growth across the service sector. Better momentum here is encouraging given the squeeze on household incomes from high inflation and rising borrowing costs. However, the picture is mixed at the country level, with a considerable upward push to growth coming from Spain and, to a lesser extent, Italy during March.
"It is difficult to envisage expansions of these magnitudes being sustained, meaning that a further strengthening of growth is dependent on other parts of the eurozone. Activity levels in Germany and France rose only modestly in March, painting a more conservative picture of underlying economic health in the eurozone."
Special promo:
Trading the Forex Market? Visit FXmania.com to get advanced infomation about currencies and the Foreign Exchange
Market.
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN