Markit Eurozone PMI Rose Most in Three Months in February (FXE)

The Eurozone economy regained some momentum at the end of the first quarter, expanding at the fastest rate since December. Markit’s flash Eurozone PMI, which tracks changes in business activity across the region, rose from 53.0 in February to 53.7 in March. The improvement was a welcome reversal of the declines seen in the prior two months.

However, despite the rise in March, the average PMI reading for the first quarter of 53.4 was the lowest quarterly trend for a year, signalling a slight slowing in the pace of economic growth.

The upturn in March was led by services, where business activity growth revived from February’s 13-month nadir to reach a three-month high, aided by a marginal uplift in new business growth.

Expectations about the year ahead also rose in the service sector, reaching the second-highest seen in the past 11 months.

Manufacturing once again lagged behind services, but also saw growth of output and new orders accelerate slightly, improving on the 12- and ten-month respective lows seen in February.

Overall growth of new orders accelerated marginally from the one-year low seen in February as a result, but other indicators from the survey were less positive.

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