Business activity for the Eurozone remained strong in May, despite a mounting backdrop of economic insecurity.

According to the latest figures from IHS Markit, the purchasing managers’ index figure (PMI) for the 19-country bloc was 56.8 in May, unchanged from April. Anything above 50 marks expansion.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at IHS Markit, said:

“The outlook for the eurozone economy seems to be tilting to the upside, and it seems likely that we’ll start to see many forecasters’ expectations for 2017 growth revised higher.”

IHS is forecasting GDP growth of 0.7% for the eurozone in the second quarter, higher than previous forecasts of 0.5%.

FTSE 100 slips

However, the PMI figure for the UK’s services sector slipped in April, falling to 54.5 in May after a figure of 55.9 in April caused by uncertainty over the General Election. The FTSE 100 slipped on the disappointing data, which undershot second-quarter growth expectations.