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IHS
Markit's final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for the
euro zone rose to 56.2 in March, the highest since April 2011,
from February's 55.4. It was in line with a flash estimate and
far above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.
An index measuring output, which feeds into a composite PMI due
on Wednesday, rose to a near six-year high of 57.5 from 57.3.
The flash estimate was 57.2.
"Euro zone manufacturing is clearly enjoying a sweet spell as we
move into spring, but it is also suffering growing pains in the
form of supply delays and rising costs," said Chris Williamson,
chief business economist at IHS Markit.
"The survey is also signaling the highest incidence of supplier
delivery delays for nearly six years, underscoring how suppliers
are struggling to meet surging demand."
A sub-index measuring delivery times fell to 41.9 from 43.9, its
lowest reading since May 2011. New orders surged despite prices
charged rising faster than in any month since June 2011.
Signs of accelerating activity and price rises will be welcomed
by policymakers at the European Central Bank who have for years
failed to get inflation anywhere near their target.
Inflation slowed in March by far more than economists polled by
Reuters had expected, driven down mostly by a deceleration of
energy price rises, official estimates showed on Friday.
Prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 1.5 percent
year-on-year, Eurostat estimated, down from a four-year high of
2.0 percent recorded in February. The Bank wants inflation of
just under 2 percent.
(Editing by John Stonestreet)
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