Growth in the services sector of the 12 nations sharing the euro gathered pace in October, reaching a four-month high, according to a key survey released Tuesday.

The eurozone service sector business actvity index, compiled by the research group NTC Economics, rose to 57.6 points in November from 56.5 in October.

The November data marks the forty-first consecutive month of growth, which is indicated by a figure over 50.

The index beat private expectations by private economists, as polled by financial news agency AFX news, for a slight rise to 56.6 points.

NTC Economics said Germany, Italy and Spain saw growth gain steam, offsetting a slowdown in France.

"Service sector activity was significantly stronger than expected across the eurozone in November," said economist Howard Archer with consultancy Global Insight.

"Not only did the business activity index rebound to a four-month high, but faster new business and employment growth and higher business expectations point to further healthy activity in the near term at least," he added.