Markit's Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was at 52.7 points in December, up from November's 51.6 points and unchanged from the earlier flash estimate, rising to its highest level since June 2011.
Among the countries covered by the survey, France and Greece were the only ones to register readings below 50, while Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Netherlands saw improved PMIs. In the PMI rankings, the Netherlands climbed to first place, overtaking Germany which slipped to second. In Greece, higher levels of output and new orders were recorded and these elevated the country's PMI to a 52-month high and close to the 50.0 stabilization point. Meanwhile, France moved in the opposite direction, however, with its PMI falling to a seven-month low and signaling a contraction for the 22nd successive month
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said, "A strengthening upturn in the manufacturing sector is helping the euro area recovery become firmly established. The latest numbers are consistent with production growing at a quarterly rate of approximately one percent at the end of the year. It is also encouraging to see prices rising slightly, suggesting firms are seeing some improvement in pricing power. With producers reporting further growth of new orders, exports and backlogs of work, the stage is set for a good start to 2014."