The Eurozone PMI Services Index ended up at 53.3 in April, a marked improvement from March's 51.5. The PMI composite index was fixed at 51.7, up from 50.3 in the previous month. Both were the highest levels in 11 months.
Notable country-level performance in the PMI composite is Spain's 12-month high of 55.7, Germany's 10-month high of 50.6, and France's 11-month high of 50.5. However, Italy's rate was 52.6, the lowest in two months, and Ireland's rate was 50.4, the lowest in six months.
Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, said the service provider had recorded growth for the third consecutive month, marking an end to the lackluster performance seen in the second half of the previous year. He emphasized the positive momentum. He highlighted that growth in employment, new business and orders reached the strongest growth in 11 months.
However, concerns about operating costs remain, as the PMI index, which measures operating costs in the service sector, has continued to rise rapidly over the past year. Dell'Albia warned that given these trends, the ECB is likely to take a cautious approach regarding potential interest rate cuts. Nevertheless, service companies have managed to offset some of the cost increases by passing them on to consumers, reflecting improved demand conditions.
The final release of the complete Eurozone PMI service is here.
