Soft EUR Boosts Business Activity in February

March 4, 2015 Share Print 0

Euro zone business activity continued to expand in February, although at a slower rate than expected, according to a closely-watched survey of the region’s services and manufacturing sectors.

The final composite reading of Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 53.3 in February, slightly below a preliminary reading of 53.5.

However it marked a rise from January’s reading of 52.6, as a weaker euro continued to give businesses in the region a boost. The 50-point mark separates expansion from contraction.

For the first time since April 2014, economic activity across each of the euro zone economies expanded, Markit said in a note accompanying the data.

“By nation, output growth was again led by Ireland and Spain. The rate of expansion in economic activity also accelerated to a four-month high in Germany, while Italy saw output rise for the second month running (albeit at a slower pace),” the group said.

Another key development from the February surveys was that France’s business activity started to expand. The region’s second-largest economy saw the strongest growth of both output and new business since August 2011.

via CNBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.