Berlin (dpa) - Economic activity in the eurozone hit an 11-month high in March thanks to an acceleration of growth in Germany, according to a key indicator released on Tuesday. The London-based Markit research group said its closely watched purchasing managers‘ index (PMI) for the 19-member currency bloc‘s manufacturing and service sectors rose from 53.3 points in February to 54 points in March. However, the March reading was slightly slower than Markit‘s preliminary figure of 54.1, which it issued last month. The PMI is based on a survey of about 5,000 companies across the eurozone. Helping to power the March PMI was a pickup in economic growth in nations that have been at the centre of the eurozone‘s debt crisis, including Ireland, Spain, Italy and France. The gains in these eurozone member states were "backed up by a fast-improving German economy where growth (as measured by the PMI) accelerated to an eight-month high," Markit said. There was also encouraging news for the region‘s hard-pressed labour market with the PMI showing employment in March rising at its fastest pace since August 2011 amid signs that deflationary pressures have eased in the 19-member currency bloc. The pickup in the PMI follows last month‘s launch of the European Central Bank‘s 1.1-trillion-euro (1.2-trillion-dollar) landmark quantitative easing programme aimed at spurring growth in the eurozone and heading off the threat of deflation. But Markit‘s chief economist Chris Williamson warned that the eurozone still faced a period of sluggish economic growth and the Greek financial crisis remained a threat to the region. "Whether the eurozone economy has achieved escape velocity to enjoy a return to a strong and sustainable recovery remains uncertain, but the region is certainly seeing its best growth momentum since 2011," Williamson said.

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