Greece: IMF willing to show 'utmost flexibility' - as it happened

• Greece says IMF is flexible about reforms
• Tsipras/Putin in Moscow: agenda
• Greece: Germany owes us a279bn in war reparations
• UK services PMI suggests economy grew by 0.7% in Q1
• Eurozone's private sector boosts economic outlook
• European markets rise

3.17pm BST

Before we close up, here is a summary of the day's main events.

3.00pm BST

European markets have also built on earlier gains, boosted by a strong set of PMI surveys from the UK and eurozone this morning.

2.53pm BST

US markets have opened up.

2.49pm BST

The International Monetary Fund has published part of its spring outlook this afternoon, ahead of the full publication next week.

It says t world's major economies risk a long period of low growth unless governments do more to overcome the after-effects of the financial crisis and the longer term problem of ageing populations.

Highlighting Germany, Canada and Japan as three of the worst affected countries, the IMF said that only by adopting a list of policy reforms that include greater spending on research and development, infrastructure projects and workers' skills could potential output be raised to nearer levels seen before the 2008 crash.

It said governments should also consider action that also includes "better designed tax and expenditure policies to boost labour force participation, particularly for women and older workers".

2.30pm BST

Germany's economy minister has said his country is ready to help Greece and stay within the eurozone but it wasn't clear how Germany could help further.

Speaking at the economy ministry in Berlin, Sigmar Gabriel said:

This country is ready to help Greece get back on its feet - moreover in my firm opinion in the euro and not outside the euro.

How one can do that, does still not appear to me to be very clear.

2.12pm BST

#Greece a lot of wary western diplomats in Athens on eve of #AlexisTsipras visit to the kremlin for talks with #vladimirputin

1.32pm BST

Helena Smith, the Guardian's correspondent in Athens, has more details on the agenda for the Moscow meeting between Putin and Tsipras on Wednesday.

Helena reports:

The Greek government has announced that prime minister Alexis Tsipras will fly to Moscow, accompanied by a delegation of officials, at 4pm today.

The far-left leader will meet president Vladimir Putin at 1pm local time, followed by a working lunch between the two men at 2pm.

1.20pm BST

The Greek finance ministry has given a few more details following Yanis Varoufakis's meeting with IMF boss in Washington.

Mrs Lagarde ... stressed that, in Greece's case, the Fund is willing to show utmost flexibility in the way in which the government's reforms and fiscal proposals will be evaluated.

12.25pm BST

A spokesman for Vladimir Putin, has reportedly been making comments ahead of the Russian President's meeting with Greek PM Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday.

There is no need to limit everything to credit and financial issues. Russian-Greek relations are quite multifaceted.

They are much broader, and the entire range of relations will be discussed tomorrow.

We do not rule out that these issues will also be raised.

11.51am BST

Sticking with Greece, there has been no let up on its insistence that it is owed reparations by Germany for the Nazi occupation of Greece during the war.

Speaking on Monday, Greece's deputy finance minister Dimitris Mardas said that Germany owes the country nearly a279bn (205bn).

Greece's deputy finance minister has said that Germany owes it nearly a279bn (205bn) in reparations for the Nazi occupation of the country.

Greek governments and private citizens have pushed for war damages from Germany for decades but the Greek government has never officially quantified its reparation claims.

11.42am BST

Over in Athens, the leading ATG share index is down 0.2% at 769.56, despite insistence from the Greek government that it is not about to default on its debt.

Minister Varoufakis and I exchanged views on current developments and we both agreed that effective cooperation is in everyone's interest. We noted that continuing uncertainty is not in Greece's interest and I welcomed confirmation by the Minister that payment owing to the Fund would be forthcoming on April 9^th.

I expressed my appreciation for the Minister's commitment to improve the technical teams' ability to work with the authorities to conduct the necessary due diligence in Athens, and to enhance the policy discussions with the teams in Brussels, both of which will resume promptly on Monday. I reiterated that the Fund remains committed to work together with the authorities to help Greece return to a sustainable path of growth and employment."

11.32am BST

Some more reaction now to those upbeat numbers from the UK services sector this morning.

Samuel Tombs, Capital Economics:

March's UK Markit/CIPS report on services provides further reassurance that the economic recovery is still on a fast track despite the uncertainty created by the upcoming general election.

With the MPC beginning its April meeting today, the PMI release offers food for thought for the Committee's hawks and doves. For the former, services activity and employment continues to rise at a strong rate, while there is evidence of rising wage pressures in the sector. But for those more inclined to wait and see before hiking rates, March's services survey also offered support, showing growth in input costs remaining historically muted and output prices rising only fractionally.

Overall, short of a marked rise in pay growth, we think that the MPC's doves will continue to win out over the hawks for the foreseeable future, with no hike in [interest rates] likely in 2015.

This morning's [composite PMI] for March will be extremely welcome news for the ruling Conservative party and Prime Minister Cameron. At 58.8, the figure beat expectations, (56.7), and is the highest reading since last August.

The detail behind the headline number was also encouraging, with the driving force for the increase being a surge in the services PMI to 58.9 from 56.7, beating expectations for a reading of 57.0.

10.53am BST

Producer prices fell at an annual rate of 2.8% in February, a slower pace of decline than January when prices fell by 3.5%.

The marked weakening in the euro, improving eurozone growth and a limited firming in oil prices from their January lows currently looks to be diluting the risk of prolonged eurozone deflation. Indeed, the eurozone could possibly exit deflation in April.

Even if the eurozone does imminently exit deflation, it may still prove to be a hard slog to get eurozone consumer price inflation back up to the ECB's target rate of "close to, but just below 2%."

9.45am BST

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said the PMI suggested the UK economy "moved up a gear in March".

Combining the services PMI with the equivalent surveys from the manufacturing and construction sectors published last week, Markit says the UK economy probably grew by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2015. That would be a slight improvement on the fourth quarter of 2014, when the economy grew by 0.6%.

The three PMI surveys collectively indicate that the economy grew by 0.7% in the first quarter, reviving from the slowdown seen late last year.

Faster growth of new business and improved expectations of prospects for the year ahead also bode well for the upturn to retain strong momentum as we move through the spring.

9.33am BST

The headline Markit/CIPS services PMI has beaten expectations, rising to 58.9 in March from 56.7 in February.

It was the strongest since August 2014, and economists had forecast a lesser improvement to 57.

9.28am BST

So all in all, a broadly positive set of eurozone services PMI surveys has boosted the outlook for the broader economy. And certainly no nasty shocks.

The UK services sector data is due at 9.30am so we'll bring you that very soon.

9.23am BST

Here is how the private sector in individual eurozone countries performed in March, combining the manufacturing and services sector PMIs.

The higher the number above 50, the stronger the growth:

9.12am BST

Taken together, the services and manufacturing sector PMI data suggest the private sector boosted the eurozone economy in March, with the two sectors combined growing at the fastest rate in 11 months.

The eurozone composite index climbed to 54 in March from 53.7 in February, putting the single currency bloc on course for 0.3% growth in the first quarter according to Markit - the same pace as the fourth quarter of 2014.

Whether the eurozone economy has achieved escape velocity to enjoy a return to a strong and sustainable recovery remains uncertain, but the region is certainly seeing its best growth momentum since 2011.

The PMIs are indicating somewhat sluggish GDP growth of 0.3% for the first quarter. However, the important message from the survey data is that the pace of expansion looks set to gather pace in coming months.

8.59am BST

The headline services PMI rose to a six-month high of 55.4 in March from 54.7 in February.

Rising new orders and employment boosted the sector in Europe's largest economy.

Germany's service providers signalled a pick-up in activity growth at the end of the first quarter, with the headline index improving for the third month running. New business flooded in at the strongest rate since September of last year, with companies benefitted from an improving economic environment, which in turn encouraged them to further add to their payrolls.

Survey data suggest that positive sentiment towards the 12-month outlook for business activity hit a four-year high in March, and companies were able to raise their charges to the greatest extent for nine months.

8.54am BST

The French services PMI indicated slowing growth in March, with the headline index falling to 52.4 from 53.4 in February.

It reflected a slowdown in new business growth. Employment in the sector grew for the first time in 17 months in March, albeit at a modest level.

The French service sector maintained its expansion in March, with activity and new business continuing to rise, albeit at slower rates. This offset a continued contraction of the manufacturing sector.

PMI data suggest that private sector activity is likely to have made a small positive contribution to first-quarter GDP. Yet there remains little to suggest any sort of convincing recovery lies around the corner, as highlighted by service providers' business expectations dipping to a three-month low in the latest survey period.

8.49am BST

The headline index rose to 51.6 in March from the no-change level of 50 in February.

New work rose at the fastest rate in eight months, ending four months of decline.

Although not quite the growth seen in manufacturing, the rise in business activity in the service sector is at least another sign that Italy's private sector economy is expanding. Furthermore, stronger inflows of new business bode well for the upturn being sustained.

Based on the recent stream of PMI data, GDP is likely to have risen for the first time in more than a year in the first quarter, albeit probably only marginally.

8.43am BST

The vast majority of FTSE 100 companies are up this morning, just four are down.

Top performers:

8.34am BST

A quick look at the markets before we get the flurry of remaining eurozone services PMIs between 8.45am and 9am.

All the major European indices are up.

8.28am BST

Here is how Spain's PMI survey has tracked official GDP over the years.

#Spain Services #PMI: sharpest rise in new orders since Jul'00 and strongest rate of job creation since Nov'07 http://t.co/0bAZANsS7n

8.22am BST

Spain's services sector performed strongly in March, with companies witnessing the sharpest rise in new orders in 15 years. The headline index on the Markit services PMI increased to 57.3 from 56.2.

New orders rose at the sharpest pace since July 2000, and employment in the sector increased at the fastest rate since November 2007, before the financial crisis was unleashed on the global economy.

The highlight from the latest Spanish Services PMI is the sharpest monthly expansion in new business for almost 15 years as improving economic conditions encourage customers to commit to spending.

The labour market continues to benefit from higher workloads, with staff taken on at a pace not seen since prior to the economic crisis.

8.12am BST

At 9.30 we have the closely watched Markit/CIPS services PMI for March.

Economists are expecting the survey to show improvement, with the headline index forecast to rise to 57 from 56.7 in February, where anything above 50 indicates expansion.

7.58am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, has been in Washington DC to meet Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund.