Eurozone growth pick-up may not stop easing again

London - Eurozone business growth accelerated slightly in November, but with firms cutting prices again the improvement will do little to alter expectations of further monetary easing by the European Central Bank.

So far, the ECB has failed to push inflation anywhere near its two per cent target ceiling and businesses across the currency bloc cut prices at a steeper rate last month than in October, Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index showed.
"Inflationary pressures remain weak," said Ben May at Oxford Economics. "It would be a massive communications error if the ECB turns around today and says 'actually we decided to do nothing'."
European stocks were 0.4 per cent higher and the euro was hovering near a seven-and-a-half-year low on Thursday amid confidence of further easing by the ECB.
Inflation in the eurozone held steady at just 0.1 per cent last month, data showed on Wednesday, and with the Bank promising to do what it must to boost inflation "as quickly as possible", it has all but committed to action.