Eurozone ‘avoids slide back into recession’

The eurozone economy may have moved one step away from another recession.

A Purchasing Managers’ Index showed manufacturing in the region unexpectedly grew this month, while Spain’s economy showed signs of a further recovery, with third-quarter unemployment dropping to the lowest level since 2011. In Germany, factories rebounded from a slump in September.

“The eurozone recovery still has some legs,” said Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING Bank in Amsterdam. “However, even if the recovery has not ground to a complete halt, growth remains much too weak for anyone’s comfort.”