BRUSSELS: Business activity in the euro-zone was up marginally in June, marking the sixth consecutive month of expansion - albeit at a slowing, sluggish pace, a closely watched survey showed Monday. The HCOB Flash Euro-zone purchasing managers’ index (PMI) published by S&P Global registered a figure of 50.2, the same pace of growth registered in May. Any reading above 50 indicates growth, while a figure below 50 shows contraction. Figures from last month were revised up after having originally shown a drop.

“The euro-zone economy is struggling to gain momentum. For six months now, growth has been minimal, with activity in the service sector stagnating and manufacturing output rising only moderately,” Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank. “In Germany, there are signs of a cautious improvement in the situation, but France continues to drag its feet”. The expansion in the 20-country currency area was centered on the manufacturing sector, where production increased for the fourth successive month, according to the survey.

But it was only “slight” having eased to a three-month low. “However, there is no reason to be resigned, as the outlook has brightened according to the survey and companies are keeping employment roughly constant,” said de la Rubia. In May, the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, cut the euro-zone economic growth forecast for 2025 to 0.9 percent, from a previous prediction of 1.3 percent. “June’s flash PMI survey for the euro-zone was consistent with the economy flat-lining,” said Jack Allen-Reynolds, deputy chief euro-zone economist at Capital Economics, an economic analysis firm. The index was “consistent with the economy stagnating” in the second quarter, with “broad based” weakness in activity, he said.— AFP