Euro zone factory growth slowed marginally last month but more mildly than a flash estimate suggested, while increases in prices charged held firm, pointing to steady interest rates for many months.
The figures, based on final results from an NTC Economics poll of some 3,000 private sector companies in the euro zone, showed uneven growth rates across the big four countries.
France's expansion unexpectedly picked up from November and overtook Germany as the fastest growing manufacturing economy among the big four economies. But Spanish factory purchasing activity contracted for the first time in 2-1/2 years.
The data showed minor revisions from the flash estimate published on Dec. 17, with the Purchasing Managers' Index raised slightly to 52.6 from 52.5, which was also the consensus forecast. The PMI fell from November's 52.8.
Employment growth, production and input prices growth came in slightly higher and the prices charged index off slightly from the flash estimate.
"The numbers are consistent with a slow retreat in manufacturing activity throughout the winter," said Gilles Moec, economist at Bank of America in London.
But economists noted that the huge variance in growth rates was cause for concern, if sustained. NTC said increases in input costs and prices at the factory gate in France far outstripped the other three economies.