LONDON, Sept 3 - Following are economists' comments after the euro zone business activity index for the services sector rose further above the 50 level that divides shrinkage from growth to reach 52.0, marking the fastest rate of expansion since mid-2002, and beat a consensus forecast of 51.0.
Latest comment HOLGER FAHRINKRUG, UBS WARBURG, FRANKFURT "It's stronger than expected, thanks to the German contribution...the PMI is definitely encouraging in terms of growth outlook for the euro area. "It is also encouraging that new business is improving... and seeing it in August, which is perhaps earlier than we expected. It might suggest that the second half of this year might not be as flat as we suspected."///