A boost for factory output in the eurozone. That’s what business surveys reflected for activity during July which grew faster than previously thought.<br /><br /> It eased slightly from June’s 14 month record pace as rising prices kept new orders in check.<br /><br /> Italy enjoyed its strongest expansion for over four years and the Netherlands and Spain showed healthy growth. But French factories slipped back into contraction.<br /><br /> And in what was a fraught month for the currency union as Greece brushed with bankruptcy the country’s survey signalled its steepest downturn in its 16-year history. <br /><br /> Markit’s final Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ index was 52.4 comfortably above the 50 level which separates growth from contraction.<br /><br /> Markit’s chief economist predicted growth will pick up again now that Greece, “has jumped its latest hurdle in the ongoing debt crisis,” said Chris Williamson.
