Manufacturing
activity in the euro zone picked up last month as demand increased from both
within and outside the currency bloc, driving factories to increase
headcount,
a survey showed on Monday.
However, the
upturn remained uneven and was centred on Germany and its neighbours. Growth
was far weaker than earlier in the year in Spain, Italy and Ireland, while
manufacturing in France continued to decline.
Markit's
Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for the bloc rose to 52.6 in September
from 51.7 in August, unchanged from a flash estimate. An index measuring output
also held above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction, coming in at
53.8, above August's 53.3.
"The key
message from the September survey is that the euro area's manufacturing economy
continues to expand at an encouragingly solid pace. The concern is that the
upturn is worryingly uneven," said Chris Williamson, chief business
economist at IHS Markit.
A sub-index
measuring new orders jumped to 53.4 from August's 18-month low of 51.4,
registering one of its highest readings in the past year, and factories also
accelerated hiring.
"For a
region beleaguered by still-high overall unemployment, the fact that the upturn
is generating more jobs is especially good news. The latest rise in factory
payroll numbers was one of the best seen over the past four years,"
Williamson
said.
Also likely
providing some good news for policymakers at the European Central Bank, the
upturn came despite firms only trimming prices by the smallest of margins.
Years of
ultra-loose monetary policy have so far failed to get inflation anywhere near
the ECB's 2 percent target ceiling, so any sign of the policy having an effect
will be welcomed.
Consumer
prices grew 0.4 percent in September, official data showed on Friday.
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