4 December 2002, 13:48  Eurozone services growth speeds up

The pace of growth in the eurozone services sector picked up last month, according to figures published this morning The eurozone purchasing managers' index for services, which measures activity at banks, hotels and IT firms, rose to 50.8 in November from 50.1 in October. Economists had forecast a rise in the index to just 50.3. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. However, Germany, the largest economy in the eurozone, registered a decline in activity. Its services PMI eased to 45.6 in November from 46.2, signalling continued contraction in the sector
There was also a decline in the services activity index in the UK, but the sector continued to record robust growth. According to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, the UK index slipped to 54.9 from 55.6. Business confidence dropped to 70.6, the weakest reading this year Earlier, NCB Stockbrokers reported that Ireland's PMI for November fell to 53.9 from 54.6 in October. //www.fxcentre.com

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