Eurozone business grows at fastest rate for a year

Price discounting drove growth in all of the eurozone’s major economies in March, helping business activity increase at its fastest rate for nearly a year, a survey showed yesterday.

New orders came in at their fastest rate since May 2011 and the survey found that companies have now been cutting prices for three years, although not as sharply in March as before.

Nevertheless, the Markit survey provided some welcome news for the ECB just weeks after it embarked on a trillion-euro asset- purchase programme.