ROME, March 4 (Reuters) - Italy's service sector expanded in February but at a slower pace than the previous month, a business survey showed on Wednesday, pointing to ongoing modest growth in the euro zone's third-largest economy.
The HCOB Italy Services PMI Business Activity Index stood at 52.3 last month from 52.9 in January, marking the 15th straight month above the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction.
A Reuters survey of 12 analysts had pointed to a reading of 52.0.
HCOB's sister
survey for Italy's smaller manufacturing sector, published on Monday, showed a return to expansion in February after two months of contraction.
The composite PMI, combining manufacturing and services, accelerated to 52.1 from 51.4, above the 50 mark for a 13th month running.
The ongoing expansion in services and the improvement in manufacturing "could give Italy's private sector a welcome boost overall and enable it to get off to a solid start in the first quarter of the new year," said Hamburg Commercial Bank economist Jonas Feldhusen.
The Italian economy grew by 0.5% in 2025, national statistics bureau ISTAT reported on Monday, matching the government's most recent, downwardly revised target.
Italy is forecasting growth of 0.7% this year, which would be a fourth consecutive year of sub-1% growth despite a steady inflow of billions of euros of EU-post-COVID 19 recovery funds.
In the services PMI survey the new business subindex decelerated marginally to 52.7 from a previous 52.9, but the indicator for new export business rose to 50.4 from 49.3, ending a run of three months in sub-50 territory.
The employment indicator, at 51.9, was the highest since July last year.
(Reporting by Antonella Cinelli, editing by Gavin Jones and Hugh Lawson)
