The eurozone’s rapid growth spurt lost some momentum in August with a robust performance by Germany failing to make up for a weaker pace of expansion in France and near stagnation elsewhere in the 16-country region. Purchasing managers’ indices pointed to a still-solid pace of expansion in private sector activity, suggesting growth is remaining buoyant in the third quarter of this year. However, they showed prospects hanging largely on the fates of Germany and France, the region’s two largest economies.  Edward Hadas analyses the latest data.