Investing.com - German private sector growth slowed slightly in January, but manufacturing activity in the euro zone’s largest economy remained buoyant, according to data released on Tuesday.
The preliminary reading of the Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at a 36-month high of 56.5 this month, up from 55.6 in December.
Economists had expected a slight decline to 55.4.
The services PMI ticked down to a four-month low of 53.2 from 54.3 a month earlier, compared to expectations for a reading of 54.5.
The composite output index, which measures the combined output of both the manufacturing and service sectors, slowed to 54.7 from Decembers 55.2, in line with forecasts.
A reading above 50.0 on the index indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
“The first flash PMI of 2017 highlighted diverging performance in Germany’s private sector economy. Whereas manufacturers signaled an accelerating upturn fueled by stronger domestic and international demand, growth slowed in the dominant service sector,” Philip Leake, economist at survey compiler Markit said.
EUR/USD was at 1.0744 from around 1.0745 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.8613 from 0.8607 earlier.