-Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit
Manufacturing activity in the Euro zone rose moderately in January, but remained close to stagnation amid mixed factory data from the bloc's leading economies, including Germany and France. The final manufacturing PMI for the Euro bloc came in at 51.0 in the reported month, up from 50.6 in December. Markit highlighted that European manufacturing are facing a duel problem of weak exports and domestic demand. Business activity in the manufacturing sector of France, Italy, Austria and Greece declined, while activity rose at a slower pace in Germany. Thus, Spain and the Netherlands accounted for a major part of the overall pick-up. In Germany, the Euro area's growth engine, the manufacturing sector remained in the expansion territory with a reading of 50.9 while in the Euro zone's second biggest economy, France, the sector remained in contraction with the final manufacturing PMI picking up to 49.2 points. French President Francois Hollande has promised to step up efforts to revive the nation's economy, taking advantage of the massive quantitative easing programme launched by the European Central Bank. Spain's manufacturing sector expanded in January, with the corresponding gauge rising to 54.7, compared with 53.8 in December and marking the 14th consecutive month the index was above the 50 line separating growth from contraction. The Spanish economy grew at the fastest pace in seven years in the December quarter of 2014, adding to hopes that the downturn triggered by the global financial crisis was over.
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