Italy services growth picks up speed in April, PMI shows
ROME, May 4 (Reuters)-Growth in Italy's service businesses picked up in April from a 13-month low in March, an encouraging sign for an economy struggling to grow, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The Markit/ADACI Business Activity Index for services companies rose to 52.1 in April from 51.2 in March, edging higher above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.
The figure beat the forecast in a Reuters poll of eight analysts, who on average predicted a reading of 51.7.
The sub-index for new work at businesses from hotels to hairdressers climbed to 51.9 from 50.9, which had been the lowest reading for more than a year.
Factory activity also accelerated in April, according to Markit's Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing, which was released earlier this week.
The eurozone's third-largest economy emerged from a three-year recession in 2015, but faltered later in the year and posted annual growth of 0.8 percent, around half the average in the 19-nation currency bloc.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government forecasts a 1.2 percent expansion this year.
Markit's composite survey for services and manufacturing rose to 53.1 in April from 52.4 in March, which had been its lowest reading for a year.
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