According to the report from IHS Markit, eurozone business activity grew at a stronger rate in April, the rate of increase accelerating to the fastest since last July as a record expansion of manufacturing output was accompanied by a return to growth in the service sector for the first time since last August.

The headline Eurozone Composite PMI® rose from 53.2 in March to 53.7 in April. Output has now risen for two months after four months of decline, with the latest expansion the second-largest recorded since September 2018.

Manufacturing output grew for a tenth straight month, expanding at a rate unsurpassed in over two decades of survey history. Germany led the factory upturn, its rate of increase easing only slightly from March’s all-time high to remain the second-strongest on record. France’s factory expansion also slowed slightly, though remained the second best seen over the past three years. Record manufacturing output growth was meanwhile seen across the rest of the region as a whole.

The service sector continued to lag behind, principally reflecting further efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in many member states, though nevertheless reported the first expansion of activity since last August, albeit growing only very modestly. The return to service sector growth seen in Germany during March came close to stalling after new lockdown measures were introduced to control further waves of the virus, but both France and the rest of the eurozone saw marginal expansions for the first time since last summer as companies prepared for better times ahead.