There were mixed economic data from the US on Monday. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index rose to 57.3 in February from 56.8 in January but factory orders fell 1.0 percent in January.
In the euro area, Markit's composite PMI fell to 49.3 in February from 50.4 in January after the services PMI fell to 48.8 from 50.4. However, retail sales rose 0.3 percent in January.
In the UK, the Markit/CIPS services PMI fell to 53.8 in February from 56.0 in January while the British Retail Consortium reported that retail sales rose 2.3 percent on the year in February after a 2.1 percent rise in January.
There were conflicting data on China's services sector, with the National Bureau of Statistics reporting on Saturday that the official services PMI fell to 48.4 in February from 52.9 in January but HSBC reporting on Monday that its China services PMI rose to 53.9 in February from 52.5 in January.
In any case, China's growth is likely to slow this year after Premier Wen Jiabao announced on Monday that the official growth target had been cut to 7.5 percent for 2012.
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