Greek manufacturing expands in December

Greek manufacturing activity kept expanding in December as new orders grew at the fastest pace in over nine years, leading firms to increase hiring and production, a survey showed on Tuesday.

Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing, which accounts for about 10 percent of the economy, rose to 53.1 from 52.2 in November. It was the seventh straight month of improvement and the sharpest pace of growth since June 2008.

Readings above 50 denote expansions in activity.

Rising demand both at home and from abroad drove the sector's continued expansion.

"The Greek manufacturing sector closed out 2017 on a firmly positive footing. Strong expansions in new orders, on both a domestic and foreign basis continued to drive the upturn," said IHS Markit economist Alex Gill.

"The data buoy hopes the Greek economy has finally turned a corner and is on...