Investing.com - Private sector output in Germany expanded at a stronger pace than expected in August, boosting optimism over the health of the euro zone's largest economy, preliminary data showed on Wednesday.
Market research group Markit said that its Flash German Composite Output Index, which measures the combined output of both the manufacturing and service sectors rose from 54.7 in July to 55.7 in August, beating forecasts for 54.7.
The overall rate of expansion picked up from July’s ten-month low, a trend reflected in both manufacturing output and services business activity.
The preliminary German manufacturing purchasing managers’ index climbed to 59.4 this month from a final reading of 58.1 in July. Analysts had expected the index to dip to 57.7 in August.
The flash services purchasing managers’ index improved to 53.4 this month from 53.1 in July, above expectations for a reading of 53.3.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
Commenting on the report, Trevor Balchin, Senior Economist at Markit, said, “Overall, the PMI data for the third quarter so far and the upward revisions to official data suggest that IHS Markit’s current growth forecast for 2017–at 2.0%–is likely to be raised."
EUR/USD was at 1.1769 from around 1.1749 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.9180 from 0.9165 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mostly higher after the open. Germany's DAX rose 0.3%, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.3%, France’s CAC 40 inched up 0.3%, while London’s FTSE 100 declined 0.1%.