“Despite the cloud of the Greek debt crisis hanging over the region, the eurozone saw economic growth accelerate to a four-year high in June.
“The PMI is signalling GDP growth of 0.4% for the region as a whole in the second quarter. The upturn is also looking encouragingly broad-based. The German PMI continues to signal robust GDP growth, and France – the latecomer to the recovery – enjoyed its best quarter for almost four years.
Outside of France and Germany, the June survey rounded off the best quarter for eight years in terms of output growth, and the best job creation since the third quarter of 2007. “The second quarter upturn signalled by the PMI puts the region on course to expand by around 2.0% this year, though much of course depends on the outcome of the Greek debt negotiations and any resulting impact on growth in the second half of the year.
“The uncertainty generated by the recent escalation of the crisis appears to have taken some of the steam out of hiring growth, but employment over the second quarter as a whole has nevertheless shown the largest rise for four years to suggest that – at present at least – the eurozone economy is weathering the Greek storm relatively well.”
