Activity in German manufacturing showed a surprisingly large month-to-month increase in December according to the NTC Research Purchasing Managers Survey. ( NTC publishes diffusion indexes for purchasing managers surveys of manufacturing, service industries and construction for a number of countries. These diffusion indexes represent a balance that ranges from 0% to 100%, with numbers above 50 representing expansion and those below, representing contraction.)

The 3.58% rise in the German manufacturing index in December brought the index to 52.97, marking the fourth month the index was above the 50 mark and its highest level since early 2001. The level of the German index is now above those of the other major economies - France, Italy and Spain - economies that had preceded Germany into the expansionary phase.

Because of decline in the indexes for these three countries, the overall index for the Eurozone rose less than one-half of one percent in December.