Euro area purchasing managers index exceeded the expectations

The purchasing manager  index increased to 48.8 points in December, after the 47.5 points of November, exceeding the analysts' expectations of 48.3 points – told the Markit research institute to MTI on Wednesday.

In the larger euro area economies, the service sector’s performance in December improved in Germany and in France, while worsened in Italy. In Germany, from 50.3 points to 52.4 points, while in France from 49.6 points to 50.3 points. In Italy the indicator decreased from 45.8 points to 44.5 points, from November to December – reports MTI.