Europe Chart Pack Falling inflation adds to pressure on the ECB February’s drop in euro-zone CPI inflation to 1.8% brought it back below the ECB’s 2% “ceiling” for the first time since November 2010. While much of the recent drop reflects slowing energy inflation... 6th March 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Recovery still uneven The latest hard data have confirmed that the euro-zone ended 2012 on a very weak note, but survey indicators for January have brought further evidence that the pace of contraction eased at the start... 6th February 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Tentative signs of improvement Recent months have seen a small, but encouraging, improvement in some euro-zone activity indicators, particularly in the peripheral economies like Greece. However, in most cases, those indicators... 10th January 2013 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Recession to deepen in Q4 Recent hard data have confirmed that euro-zone GDP fell for a second quarter running in Q3 and more timely indicators suggest that the recession deepened in the fourth quarter. September’s drop in... 5th December 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Mixed signals on Q3 growth The economic data has provided somewhat conflicting messages on the likely strength of the euro-zone economy during the third quarter of the year. While the hard data on industrial production and... 7th November 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Economic outlook continues to darken The unveiling of the ECB’s new bond purchase programme may have provided markets with a lift, but further declines in business and consumer sentiment suggest that the overall eurozone economic outlook... 3rd October 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Euro-zone back in recession Recent indicators have supported the view that the euro-zone is now firmly in recession. GDP fell by 0.2% in Q2 after stagnating in Q1 and falling by 0.3% in Q4. And the business surveys so far point... 4th September 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Export slowdown continues Recent data from the external sector have confirmed that export growth has continued to slow. Indeed, the annual growth rate of export values fell to its lowest level in two and a half years in May... 31st July 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Weaker inflation to provide little relief Euro-zone activity indicators continue to point to a broad-based worsening in economic conditions. Admittedly, the prospect of further falls in CPI inflation (see Chart) following the recent plunge in... 3rd July 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Downturn spreading to the core The euro-zone may have narrowly avoided falling back into recession around the turn of the year, but timelier data have revealed that economic prospects are deteriorating. Activity surveys, such as... 8th June 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Weakening outlook fuels growth calls The growing calls for euro-zone policymakers to shift their emphasis from austerity to growth have been fuelled by the continued deterioration in the outlook for the economy. Key forward-looking... 2nd May 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack LTRO euphoria starting to fade Recent news on the euro-zone economy has dampened hopes that that the ECB’s longer-term refinancing operations (LTROs) in December and February had largely solved the euro-zone’s economic and fiscal... 3rd April 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Consumer outlook darkens The prospect of stronger growth in the euro-zone economy has been dented by a slew of bad news on the consumer sector. Not only did household spending contract by 0.4% in the last quarter of 2011 -... 7th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Money and credit still very weak While some of the euro-zone activity indicators have nudged up this month, money and credit growth have weakened further. The annual growth rate of the broad money supply fell to an 11-month low of 1... 14th February 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Divergences widen Some of the euro-zone’s survey indicators have ticked up in the past month. However, they almost unanimously warn of a renewed recession in the region, with the composite PMI, for example, pointing to... 11th January 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Entering another deep recession Hopes that euro-zone policymakers will hatch a new “grand plan” to save the euro-zone may have grown, but evidence is mounting that the region is on the cusp of another deep recession. In November... 8th December 2011 · 1 min read