European countries reported strong figures on Thursday, with Spain and Germany both reporting growth, tempered only slightly by a softening in Italy’s manufacturing sector.

Spain

Spanish service providers recorded the fastest rise in employment in 11 years at the end of the first quarter of 2018, according to IHS Markit figures, with business activity also continuing to increase sharply.

The headline seasonally-adjusted Business Activity Index fell marginally in March to 56.2 in March, down slightly from 57.3 in February but still signalling a sharp monthly increase in activity across the service sector.

Germany

Performance in the German manufacturing sector increased by 0.3 percent in February, according to figures released on Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

Price-adjusted new orders without major orders in manufacturing decreased by 0.7 percent in February 2018, with domestic orders decreasing by 1.4 percent. However, foreign orders increased by 1.4 percent in February on the previous month.

Italy

Italy was the weakest link in the European chain, with its service sector suffering a noticeable slowdown in growth during March. Both activity and new work rose at the weakest rates since last October.

Employment also rose at a slower pace and cost inflation weakened further, while competitive pressures led to a decline in prices charged.