EU Report Claims Eurozone Growth to be Stronger

Eurozone economic growth will be slightly stronger this year than previously forecast, according to the European Commission’s latest forecast.

It predicts 1.5% growth this year, up 0.2 percentage points from its forecast in February, thanks to cheaper oil, a weak euro and stimulus measures.

The improvement was despite a much gloomier outlook for Greece, which saw forecast growth cut to 0.5% from 2.5%.

The report said faster growth would see inflation rise and unemployment fall.

For 2016, the Commission kept its forecast of 1.9% for the eurozone.

“The European economy is enjoying its brightest spring in several years, with the upturn supported by both external factors and policy measures that are beginning to bear fruit,” said Pierre Moscovici, commissioner for economic and financial affairs, taxation and Customs.

“But more needs to be done to ensure this recovery is more than a seasonal phenomenon,” he added.
The falling price of crude oil has helped to reduce business costs, while the weak euro helps exporters. And the European Central Bank has injected money into the 19-nation eurozone.

via BBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza