Euro area starts 2017 on strong note as price pressures build

Bloomberg

The euro-area economy expanded at a robust pace at the start of the year as inflation pressures increased, according to IHS Markit.
A Purchasing Managers’ Index signaled quarterly growth of 0.4 percent, with broad-based expansion in both manufacturing and services, the London-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Although the gauge slipped to 54.3 in January from 54.4 in December, economic momentum remained robust, it said.
“Perhaps the most encouraging development is the upturn in hiring, with January seeing the largest monthly rise in employment for nine years amid improved optimism about the year ahead,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. While selling-price growth remained subdued, “the recent strengthening of demand is at least starting to help restore some pricing power among suppliers, hinting at an upturn in core inflationary pressures.”