(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 6 mag - European share prices were higher at midday as oil prices continued to ease amid renewed hopes for a peace deal in the Iran conflict.

The move came after the US stated its offensive military actions against Iran were completed and president Donald Trump announced the temporary suspension of "Project Freedom" and efforts to assist stranded vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to create space for negotiations.

On the data front, Eurostat reported that industrial producer prices in the euro area increased by 3.4% month on month in March compared to a 0.6% fall in February, while prices rose 2.1% on a yearly basis.

In France, industrial production rose a seasonally-adjusted 1.0% in March after a 0.9% fall in February.

Regarding the services sector, the April PMI for the eurozone fell to 47.6 from 50.2 in March, with the composite index decreasing to 48.8 from 50.7.

Germany's services index dropped to 46.9 from 50.9 and its composite fell to 48.4, while France's services PMI slipped to 46.5 from 48.8 and its composite reached 47.6.

In Italy, the services PMI rose to 49.8 from 48.8. Spain's services index slumped to 47.9 from 53.3 while the composite fell to 48.7. The UK's services PMI rose to 52.7 from 50.5 and its composite increased to 52.6.

A reading above 50 signals an expansion of the sector while one below a contraction.

At 0941 GMT, Milan's FTSE MIB index was up 1.79% to 49,426.50 points while in Frankfurt the DAX rose 2.43% to 24,985.32 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 2.46% to 8,261.04 points. London's FTSE 100 was 2.21% higher at 10,445.39.

points while Madrid's IBEX 35 rose 2.26% to 18,067.84 points.

(RADIOCOR) 06-05-26 11:44:58 (0366) 5 NNNN