Eurozone September business growth at four-month low: PMI

London

EUROZONE business activity grew at its weakest pace in four months during September but in one encouraging sign for the European Central Bank, service firms raised prices for the first time in four years, surveys showed on Monday.

The data point to modest third-quarter growth of 0.4 per cent, survey compiler Markit said, and are likely to largely disappoint policymakers, six months into the ECB's 60 billion euros (S$96 billion) a month quantitative easing programme.

Britain's economy, which has been outpacing the eurozone's, is also losing steam, with service industry growth at a two-and-a-half-year low, likely rattling the Bank of England as its Monetary Policy Committee meets to discuss …