Mumbai, Feb. 21 -- Business activity rose across Germany's private sector for the second month running and at a slightly quicker rate in February.
The latest HCOB 'flash' PMI survey showed that sustained steady growth of services business activity midway through the first quarter coincided with a reduced drag from falling manufacturing production, which recorded the slowest decline for nine months.
Employment in the eurozone's largest economy meanwhile showed a modest fall as job losses in the goods-producing sector offset rising workforce numbers at services firms.
On the price front, rates of inflation in both input costs and output prices ticked down slightly from the recent highs seen in January.
The dichotomy between price rises in...