Eurozone activity accelerates less than initially thought in April, S&P says

Economic activity in the single currency bloc accelerated by less than previously thought, the results of a closely followed survey revealed.

The S&P Global HCOB Composite Purchasing Managers' Index rose from a reading of 53.7 for March to 54.1 in April - an 11-month high.

That was less than a preliminary reading of 54.4 published in mid-April.

On the positive side of things, employment growth in the euro area hit a nearly one-year high, even as price pressures continued to moderate.

Input price inflation, while "historically sharp", slowed to a 26-month low, the survey compiler said.

However, the expansion of the economy was solely down to activity in services, as factory output shrank for the first time since January alongside falls in manufacturing order books.

"The small downward revision to the EZ composite PMI doesn’t change the message from the survey; it points to EZ activity gaining steam at the start of Q2, as services kicked up a gear offsetting renewed weakness in manufacturing," said Melanie Debono, senior Europe economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"Still, we think the ECB will choose to go for a 25bp rate hike later today, rather than anything more, given the bleak Q1 Bank Lending Survey and easing core inflation in April."