Italy’s services activity expanded at the fastest pace in five months in December, survey data from IHS Markit showed Thursday.
The services Purchasing Managers’ index rose to 55.4 in December from 54.7 in November. This was the highest reading since July and has remained above 50 no-change mark for 19 months in a row.
December’s strong gain in activity was closely correlated to a sharp rise in new business. Further, increased job numbers helped companies to keep on top of workloads.
On the price front, average operating costs rose to the greatest degree since September. However, companies were on average unable to pass on any of their higher costs, with latest data showing a slight fall in prices charged.
“With industry continuing to expand at a tremendous clip into the year end, Italy’s economy seems set to have recorded in Q4 a similar-sized increase in GDP to the one seen in the previous quarter,” Paul Smith, director at IHS Markit said.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com
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