Markit's Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was at 53.0 points in March, down from February's 53.2 points and unchanged from the earlier flash estimate.
Among the countries covered by the survey, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, which were February's top performers, recorded slowdowns in their manufacturing PMI in March. These countries were offset by Ireland, Spain and Italy which indicated the highest PMIs. The Greek PMI edged back into contraction territory for the first time in three months.
"Despite having cooled slightly in March, the euro area manufacturing sector continues to enjoy its best spell of growth since early 2011. The rate of output growth remains encouragingly robust, with the survey indicating that production rose by around 1.0 percent in the first quarter. That means the goods-producing sector is on course to provide a meaningful boost to the overall economy in the first three months of the year. The surveys are signaling a GDP increase of approximately 0.5 percent," Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said.