Euro Zone Business Activity Soared In June As Lockdowns Lifted

• Euro zone businesses expanded activity at the fastest rate in 15 years in June as the easing of more coronavirus restrictions brought life back to the bloc's dominant service industry, a survey showed on Monday. But that surge in growth has come at a cost as inflationary pressures mounted due to labour shortages and disruptions to supply chains caused by the pandemic. 
• IHS Markit's final composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), seen as a good gauge of economic health, jumped to 59.5 last month from May's 57.1, its highest level since June 2006. That was ahead of the 59.2 "flash" estimate and well above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction. 
• "The index was at its 15-year high, confirming that the recovery in the bloc's economy is well underway. At the same time, backlogs and producer price pressures show no signs of abating," said Mateusz Urban at Oxford Economics. 
• An acceleration in vaccination programmes on the continent has meant governments have allowed more of the services industry to re-open and the sector's PMI soared to its highest reading since July 2007. Activity in Germany's service industry grew in June at its fastest pace since March 2011 while in France the sector boomed following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

(Source: Reuters)