February was worst month for eurozone businesses in over a year

London

EUROZONE businesses had their worst month in over a year in February which, coupled with further signs of deflationary pressures, is likely to solidify expectations for further monetary policy easing, a survey found.

Markit's final Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (CPI), published on Thursday and seen as a good guide to growth, fell to 53 last month from January's 53.6, its lowest reading since the start of 2015. That was ahead of the preliminary reading of 52.7, however, and comfortably over the 50 mark that denotes growth.