Services sector drives eurozone growth in April - PMI

Eurozone business activity rose in April driven by activity in the services industry as Covid restrictions were eased, offsetting a near-stall in manufacturing output growth, a key survey showed on Wednesday.

S&P Global's final composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 55.8 in April from March's 54.9, matching a flash estimate. A reading above 50 indicates growth.

"The euro zone economy has shown surprising resilience in the face of the Ukraine-Russia war, thanks to a renewed burst of service sector activity as virus containment measures were relaxed further during April," said S&P Global chief business economist Chris Williamson.

A PMI for the services industry jumped to 57.7 from 55.6 in March, its highest reading since August.

The services business expectations sub-index rose to 62.3 from 60.8 as pandemic restrictions loosened further.

However, the composite output price index leapt to 68.5 from 65.7, indicating that soaring inflation was forcing firms to pass on costs to customers.

"The combination of the stronger growth profile for the second quarter and a persistent acceleration of inflation signalled by the surveys will add to speculation that the ECB could start raising interest rates as soon as its July meeting," Williamson said.