Eurozone manufacturing growth modest in January
Xinhua, February 3, 2015 Adjust font size:
The final seasonally adjusted eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 51.0 in January 2015, up from December 2014's print of 50.6, reported by Markit Monday.
The start of 2015 saw a modest growth acceleration in the eurozone manufacturing sector, said Markit.
Four countries' manufacturing sector continually expanded in January, namely Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Ireland. Growth strengthened in Spain and the Netherlands.
By contrast, the manufacturing downturns in France, Italy, Austria and Greece continued at the start of the year. Moreover, the rates of contraction in France and Italy eased to near-stabilisation, but Austria and Greece registered steepening downturns, said Markit.
"Eurozone manufacturing showed signs of pulling out of the doldrums at the start of the year, but the rate of expansion remained disappointingly meagre, vindicating the European Central Bank (ECB)'s decision to take drastic action to revive the economy," said Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit.
"There is also a real possibility that the impact of the ECB stimulus could be compromised by uncertainty and instability arising from the unfolding political situation in Greece, which remains a major risk to the economic outlook for the region," said Williamson. Endit