German business activity accelerates in November

By MarketWatch

LONDON
German private-sector activity grew in November at its fastest rate in almost a year, fueling hope that a slowdown in the economy in the third quarter will quickly be reversed
Data provider Markit said y a preliminary reading of its composite Purchasing Managers' Index for Germany rose to 54.3 in November from 53.2 in October, putting it further above the 50 threshold that denotes month-to-month growth
The expansion was fastest in the services sector, the index for which climbed to 54.5, while the index for manufacturing--the heart of Germany's export-driven economy--edged up to 52.5, its strongest reading in over two years
New orders taken by businesses across the economy also rose at the fastest rate in over two years
"November's survey suggests that the German economy has built up a head of steam through the final quarter of 2013," said Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit
Official data earlier this month showed the German economy grew 0.3% quarter-on-quarter between July and September, a sharp slowdown from a 0.7% growth rate between April and June
Thursday's strong survey data for the euro zone's largest economy contrast with a poor performance by France, its second-largest
Markit said business activity there shrank in November