Europe Chart Pack Deflationary pressures remain intense Although headline consumer price inflation rose from -0.6% to -0.3% in February, this was driven entirely by a rise in energy prices as oil prices reversed some of their recent falls. Core inflation... 4th March 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Modest recovery continues despite Greek crisis Euro-zone economic activity has continued to recover despite the troubles in Greece. For now, worries about the crisis seem to have been offset by the benefits of a weaker euro and falling producer... 5th February 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Deflation will last longer this time The euro-zone is back in deflation just over five years since the end of the last period of falling prices seen in 2009. But unlike that last bout, which lasted just five months, deflation looks set... 8th January 2015 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Lower oil prices to tip euro-zone into deflation The recent further falls in global oil prices look set to push euro-zone consumer price inflation - already very low at just 0.3% in November - below zero in the early months of 2015. Provided that... 3rd December 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Bank lending still a major drag on growth The latest data have shown tentative signs of improvement in the euro-zone banking sector, with the pace of contraction in lending slowing slightly in September (see Chart) and the Bank Lending Survey... 5th November 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Economic weakness spreads to Germany The latest survey indicators seem to have confirmed that the euro-zone’s feeble recovery has already passed its peak. September’s fall in the composite PMI, for example, left it consistent with a... 1st October 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Deflation threat raises pressure on the ECB August’s fall in euro-zone HICP inflation from 0.4% to 0.3% left it at its lowest rate sinceOctober 2009, when it was negative, and well beneath the ECB’s target of “below, but closeto, 2%”. What’s... 3rd September 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Recovery gained little traction in Q2 According to recent hard data, next week’s Q2 GDP release may show that the euro-zone’srecovery gained no momentum after Q1’s disappointing 0.2% quarterly rise in GDP. In fact,the performance of... 6th August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Was Q2 as good as it gets? In Q2, the euro-zone probably saw a small improvement on Q1’s 0.2% rise in GDP. But falls in the latest activity indicators such as the PMI and the EC’s ESI suggest that the region’s recovery could be... 2nd July 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Deflation risks still mounting May’s fall in euro-zone HICP inflation from 0.7% to 0.5% left it at its joint weakest rate since October 2009 and far beneath the ECB’s 2% price stability ceiling. There is no sign of inflationary... 4th June 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Have the ECB's contingencies been met? The latest economic data have left the ECB’s two “contingencies” for further policy action – a worsening of the medium-term inflation outlook and an unwarranted tightening of the money markets –... 7th May 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Euro-zone recovery gradually building momentum The key euro-zone surveys of activity and sentiment continued to pick up in Q1, particularly in the periphery, suggesting that GDP growth in the region as a whole may have been a bit stronger than in... 2nd April 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Euro-zone consumers yet to join the recovery While euro-zone activity indicators suggest that the region’s recovery has picked up speed a bit in the early months of 2014, growth remains worryingly unbalanced. For now, exporters appear to be... 5th March 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Brighter signs don't preclude need for more policy action Despite the recent bout of disappointing global economic news and financial market turbulence, economic indicators like the PMI suggest that the euro-zone’s fragile recovery gained a bit of a momentum... 5th February 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Deflationary pressures still building Recent euro-zone inflation data have provided firmer signs that CPI inflation will remain well below the ECB’s 2% stability ceiling for longer than the Bank itself expects. Admittedly, headline CPI... 8th January 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Weak growth & strong euro keep pressure on ECB Having slowed almost to a halt in Q3, early indications suggest that the euro-zone’s economic recovery is unlikely to have regained much momentum – if any – in the final quarter of the year. Meanwhile... 4th December 2013 · 1 min read