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The rate of economic recovery on the continent could be slowing, latest figures reveal.
Figures on the purchasing managers' index which measures activity and confidence in the eurozone's services sector shows that the November reading came in at 53.2.
That is up from October's reading of 52.6 and was the third month in a row that the PMI had a reading which was more than 50. (A reading below 50 indicates contraction.)
The services sector in Europe, as in the UK, is far more dominant than the manufacturing industry and that has left economists declining to forecast a speeding up of the European economy in the current fourth quarter.
The official GDP figure measuring economic activity showed growth of 0.4% in the third quarter of the year but most economists are suggesting that rate of growth has slowed to 0.3% in the final quarter. “Today's numbers are a very small improvement compared to what we have been seeing,” said Silvio Peruzzo, economist at Royal Bank of Scotland. “They suggest that the pace of improvement which was very sharp may be decelerating.”
Martin van Vliet at ING said the governments can not relax yet. “With the economy still facing several headwinds such as the strong euro and a weakening labour market, policymakers should remain cautious,” he said.
