Business activity across the eurozone picked up in September, reaching its fastest pace in more than a year, according to data released Tuesday. The S&P Global purchasing managers’ index, a closely watched gauge of economic health, registered 51.2 this month, edging up from 51 in August. It marks the ninth straight month of expansion and the strongest showing since May of last year. Any reading above 50 signals growth, while figures below that threshold indicate contraction.
“The eurozone is still on a growth path,” said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, which compiles the survey. “That said, we’re still a long way from seeing any real momentum.”
Germany, the region’s economic heavyweight, provided much of the lift, recording a solid increase in output. But the picture remained uneven: in France, business activity contracted for the thirteenth consecutive month, underscoring the fragility of the bloc’s recovery.
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De la Rubia noted that political uncertainty in France had also taken a toll. The abrupt resignation of Prime Minister François Bayrou earlier this month, part of President Emmanuel Macron’s latest government shake-up, unsettled businesses already grappling with weak demand. “The outlook for manufacturing is looking a bit cloudy,” he said. “Production is still growing, but the pace is being dragged down by France, where the political crisis likely threw a wrench into companies’ production plans.”
Elsewhere in the eurozone, growth continued, though at a more moderate clip. Output in smaller economies such as Spain and the Netherlands remained positive, but the survey pointed to a slower pace of expansion compared with earlier in the summer.
The data offer a cautious boost for policymakers in Brussels and Frankfurt, who are hoping to steer the bloc out of a period of economic malaise. While September’s figures suggest resilience, the uneven picture between Germany and France highlights the challenges facing Europe’s single currency area as it seeks to sustain growth.