Eurozone economy looked a little less buoyant in February

IHS Markit’s composite Purchasing Managers Index slipped to 57.1 from 58.8 in January, it said Monday. That’s the weakest in four months and below the flash estimate of 57.5. The index for services activity was also revised lower.

The report showed that Germany, the region’s largest economy, grew the least in three months, while France also cooled. Spain bucked the trend among the major economies, with the best PMI reading in eight months. In Italy, which held national elections at the weekend, the composite PMI also declined, albeit from a 10-and-a-half-year high.

The figures follow confidence surveys in recent days that show expansion in the 19-nation region may be coming off the boil after the best year in a decade in 2017. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg see growth of 2.3% in 2018. That’s down from 2.5% in 2017, but still a solid pace.

IHS Markit noted that the PMI readings, which are well above the key 50 level, indicate quarterly growth is running at a quarterly pace close to 1%.

“The eurozone economy looks to have hit a speed bump in February after a stellar start to the year,” said chief business economist Chris Williamson. “It’s too early to read too much into the February fall” because “some pull-back from January’s high was always on the cards,” he said.