Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Prod. (Jan.) & German ZEW (Mar.) January’s rise in euro-zone industrial production did not reverse December’s fall and, together with earlier retail sales data, suggests that the message from the business surveys that growth gained... 14th March 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German & Spanish Industrial Production, French Trade (Jan.) January’s rise in German industrial production reversed December’s fall and provided a solid start to Q1. But so far, hard data on Germany and elsewhere in the euro-zone suggest that growth will not... 8th March 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone GDP Expenditure Breakdown (Q4) The final estimate of euro-zone GDP in Q4 showed that growth was driven mainly by household spending. But with rising energy inflation now weighing on households’ real income growth, we expect the... 7th March 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Flash CPI (Feb.) February’s rise in German consumer price inflation to 2.2% reflected food and energy effects. Core inflation remained subdued, implying that rising price pressures in the euro-zone’s largest economy... 1st March 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German GDP (Q4) & Consumer Confidence (Mar.) The second release confirmed that German GDP was growing at a healthy pace at the end of last year, driven mainly by consumer spending. While business surveys suggest that growth will accelerate... 23rd February 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Feb.) February’s renewed rise in the German Ifo Business Climate Indicator supported the message from the PMI that growth accelerated at the start of this year. 22nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Would a victory for Germany’s SPD reshape Europe? A German government led by the Social Democratic Party could embark on a modest fiscal stimulus at home and show more fiscal leniency to countries such as Greece. But its policies would be unlikely to... 21st February 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly EC’s optimistic forecasts underestimate key risks In its latest economic forecasts published last week, the European Commission (EC) provided a fairly upbeat outlook for the euro-zone economy, expecting it to sustain its current pace of growth in... 17th February 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone GDP (Q4), Ind. Prod. (Dec.) & German ZEW (Feb.) The second estimate of euro-zone Q4 GDP suggested that economic conditions at the end of last year were not quite as positive as previously estimated by Eurostat. And growth looks set to slow this... 14th February 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Markets’ fears over Le Pen outweigh hopes for Macron Marine Le Pen’s announcement of her radical vision for France, particularly her intentions for an exit from the European Union and the euro, unnerved euro-zone financial markets last week. Her main... 10th February 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Which countries are most exposed to US protectionism? Germany, Belgium and particularly Ireland are the euro-zone members most exposed to US protectionism, while Portugal and the other peripheral euro-zone economies are the least exposed. 8th February 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Industrial Production & French Trade (Dec.) December’s drop in German industrial production is unlikely to be a sign of things to come, but it does suggest that the economy entered 2017 on a slightly weaker footing than the surveys have implied... 7th February 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will Germany address its “grossly undervalued” currency? The accusation by US policymakers that Germany’s currency is “grossly undervalued” is partly justified. Indeed, while the euro’s current low level seems warranted by economic fundamentals in the... 1st February 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Flash CPI (Jan.) January’s rise in German consumer price inflation to 1.9% reflected energy effects while core inflation remained subdued. Price pressures are weaker elsewhere in the euro-zone and there is still... 30th January 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (Jan.) January’s fall in the German Ifo survey suggests that the economy has lost some of the strong momentum seen at the end of last year. And while the weak euro exchange rate should boost exports in the... 25th January 2017 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Bank Lending Survey adds to case for loose ECB policy With the euro-zone economy performing fairly well and headline inflation on the up, the results of last week’s Bank Lending Survey were a timely reminder to the ECB that its job is far from done... 20th January 2017 · 1 min read
