The latest news from the eurozone is as upbeat as it has been for 18 months. Snapshots of activity in the manufacturing and services sectors are consistent with the long recession in the single currency area – which has been entrenched for the past six quarters – coming to an end. If the evidence from purchasing managers is to be believed, Germany is looking good and France is clawing its way back to normality.
A better performance by the eurozone's Big Two – accompanied by a lessening of recessionary pressure in Spain and Italy – should, with luck, eke out some growth across the region in the second half of 2013.
Analysts put the recent improvement down to the growth stimulus provided by the European Central Bank, the slower pace of austerity in 2013 compared with 2012, and the help that last year's pickup in the global economy provided to Europe's export-dependent economy.
So is this it? Are the PMIs (purchasing managers' indices) proof that an end to Europe's misery is at last in sight? The good news is that Wednesday's report was no flash in the pan: the eurozone PMIs have been improving for the past five months. It is also encouraging that the pace of job shedding is easing, given that record unemployment has been a significant drag on activity.
Read more: EU Economy: Is an end to Europe's misery in sight? | Larry Elliott | Business | guardian.co.uk
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