Business in the Eurozone kept growing at a solid pace in August, thanks to robust manufacturing performance that easily offset a slight slowdown in services growth.

The Flash Eurozone Composite PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) edged up from 55.7 points to 55.8 in August. The PMI, which is believed to be a strong indicator of the region’s overall economic growth, also outshined the median Reuters Poll’s estimate of 55.5.

The positive data was driven by the best manufacturing performance in more than six years in spite of a strong euro, data released on Wednesday showed.

Bert Colijn, a senior economist with ING, “Even though service sector growth has been somewhat weaker recently, the fundamentals for continued strength in the second half of 2017 are still there.”

The momentum was mainly underpinned by robust manufacturing growth in Germany and France, where manufacturing PMIs surpassed even analysts’ most optimistic predictions.

The encouraging data will likely support expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) will push ahead with its plans to scale back its multi-billion euro monthly asset purchases later this year.