- Chris Williamson, Markit Chief economist
The Euro zone economy enjoyed a solid end to 2015, even though the French economy continued to drag the region's economy. The headline indicator measuring activity in the Euro area's manufacturing and services sectors unexpectedly climbed in December and closed the strongest quarter in more than four years. The Euro zone composite PMI increased to 54.3, up from 54.2 in November. The services PMI rose to 54.2 last month, remaining unchanged from a month earlier. The survey also showed that in the final month of the year, private sector firms added new jobs at the fastest rate since May 2011. In France, the services sector activity dropped to the lowest level in 11 months, with the corresponding gauge falling to 50.1 from 50.3. At the same time, levels of activity in Germany, Italy and Spain, three of the currency bloc's biggest economies, remained solid.
Markit predicts a modest 0.4% growth of the Euro zone economy in the final quarter of 2015, suggesting 1.5% growth for the year as a whole. Given subdued inflation in the currency bloc, the European Central Bank will be pressured to act further to support the struggling Euro zone economy and boost consumer prices.
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