Eurozone Private-Sector Growth Hits Its Fastest Pace in Over Three Years

According to S&P Global's flash estimate released on Thursday, September 24, 2026, the eurozone Composite PMI rose to 53.1 in September from 52.0 in August, while analysts in a Bloomberg survey had expected a dip to 51.7. It is the fastest private-sector growth in about three and a half years. Manufacturing reached a 55-month high and services a 10-month high; Germany posted its fastest growth in almost a year and France returned to growth for the first time in 10 months.

At the same time, input costs and output prices rose at their fastest pace in four months. Donya-e-Eqtesad, citing Bloomberg, reported that this resilience in the face of energy costs driven by regional tensions strengthens the case for another European Central Bank rate hike before year end, a shift that also reaches Iran's currency market through the euro rate.