Eurozone Recovery Accelerates in April as Services Return to Growth

A survey revealed that the eurozone’s recovery from the pandemic-induced economic downturn was much stronger than expected in April as the bloc’s dominant service sector ignored renewed lockdowns and saw a sudden return to growth.

As the continent faces a new wave of infections with the Coronavirus, governments have re-imposed strict public isolation measures to contain the spread, forcing some companies to close and encouraging citizens to stay at home.

This means that the economy is expected to recover at a much weaker pace this season than expected a month earlier, according to a Reuters poll last week.

But the preliminary reading of the IHS Markit PMI, which is considered a good indicator of the resilience of the economy, rose to a nine-month high of 53.7 from 53.2 in March, missing expectations in a Reuters poll for a fall to 52.8. Any reading above the 50 level indicates growth.

The services PMI rose to 50.3 from 49.6 last month, above the median forecast in a Reuters poll that indicated a drop to 49.1.