Mumbai, Jan. 6 -- The euro area economy registered a twelfth successive month-on-month rise in private sector business activity at the end of year, according to the latest HCOB PMI survey data, and in doing so rounded off the strongest quarter of growth since the second quarter of 2023.
That said, the expansion slowed to the weakest since last September, indicating a loss of momentum as 2025 drew to a close. A slower rise in demand for euro area goods and services was a headwind in December, although backlogs of work were cleared at a faster rate and employment growth ticked up.
Meanwhile, input cost inflation quickened to a nine-month high, reflecting a broad-based uplift in price pressures at the sector level, but the pace of increase i...