Euro Zone Business Activity Accelerates

There was a surprise surge in the euro zone’s private sector in July.
Surveys of European purchasing managers showed private sector business activity accelerated.
Economists had predicted a slowdown.
Analysts said the figures seem to indicate growth in the euro zone in the third quarter of around 0.6 to 0.7 percent.
That would be double economists’ forecasts in a recent poll for growth of just 0.3 percent.
But economists warned that the bullish euro zone data was mainly due to Germany and France.
Purchasing managers’ surveys at the end of the month will include euro zone peripheral economies and are not likely to be so upbeat.