21:34, 03-Apr-2018
Euro Zone Economy: European factory growth knocked by heavy snowfall
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Turning to the European economy now. Europe's manufacturing boom stumbled in March as optimism waned and demand ebbed owing to a powerful winter storm.
The bloc's Manufacturing Purchasing Index sank to an eight-month low of 56.6 in March from 58.6. But it still lies comfortably above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction. The minor decrease was unlikely to stop decision-makers at the European Central Bank from moving away from their quantitative easing program, which was expected to begin this summer.
In Britain, the final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index inched up to 55.1 in March from a downwardly revised 55.0 in February. The impact on production from heavy snowfall in March was weak. And cooling price pressures will reassure the Bank of England, which is set to intervene if inflation continues to move up.