* UK service sector hit by fall in consumer spending * Eurozone economic growth at near six year high * German service sector recovers * French and Italian services show strong growth 10.57am GMT Over in Greece, the country’s prime minister tweets: Meeting with the French PM @BCazeneuve today in Athens. France's support to Greece in major challenges has been invaluable. pic.twitter.com/9eY6eE76sF 10.44am GMT The UK is entering stagflation - high inflation and stagnant growth - warns Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. He said: The decline in the services PMI to a five-month low in February is the clearest sign yet that the U.K. now is enduring stagflation. The business activity index is consistent with quarter-on-quarter growth in output in the non-distribution private services sector slowing to around 0.2% in the first quarter from 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Granted, the PMI often is influenced excessively by sentiment and it was far too downbeat immediately after the referendum. But the recent rally in equity prices should have boosted corporate confidence. In addition, the services PMI was too downbeat last year because it excludes the retail sector, which benefited from a surge in consumer spending. Evidence on retail spending so far this year has been disappointingly weak. Continue reading...
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