Clouds ahead
Numbers are being revised downwards
I
F EUROPE’S ECONOMIES were a brass band, Germany’s would be the tuba: the biggest, most reliable generator of oom-pah-pah on a continent of cornets and bugles. Last spring it coped with the sharpest recession since the second world war better than its neighbours, thanks to a shorter and looser covid-19 lockdown and a massive fiscal stimulus. This year Germany was expected to recover its mighty puff more quickly than its peers.
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However, the latest statistics suggest that the tuba’s valves are stuck: the recovery might not be as robust as forecast. On January 14th Destatis, the official statistics agency, announced that the German economy shrank by 5% last year. This is painful, but not nearly as bad as the double-digit contractions expected in Spain and several other European countries. In the last quarter of the year it stagnated, Destatis said.
BERLIN, Jan 25 German business confidence declined in January, a key survey showed today, after Europe’s top economy toughened measures to fight a second wave of the pandemic and new coronavirus variants. The Ifo institute’s monthly confidence barometer, based on a survey of 9,000.
ECB meets as virus woes weigh on eurozone
Analysts say inflation could bound higher later this year, powered by pent-up consumer demand once lockdowns start easing, particularly in travel and dining out.
January 21, 2021 02:57 GMT
European Central Bank governors meet Thursday to take stock of their monetary stimulus efforts as more infectious strains of the coronavirus and stricter shutdowns cloud the economic outlook.
Policymakers are expected to stop short of taking fresh action after ramping up their pandemic support for the eurozone last month.
But observers will be scrutinising ECB chief Christine Lagarde s words for hints of concern about the virus resurgence and the recent strength of the euro against the dollar.
4 Min Read
BENGALURU (Reuters) - The European Central Bank’s new policy package will have little effect on the euro zone’s coronavirus-ravaged economy, according to the forecasts of a Reuters poll of economists, who nearly halved their outlook for first-quarter growth.
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, July 8, 2020. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
Despite the ECB’s decision to top up its pandemic emergency purchases by half a trillion euros to 1.85 trillion euros and extend the programme for nine months, the bloc’s economic outlook remains bleak.
The Reuters poll consensus of over 80 economists forecast the euro zone economy shrank 2.5% last quarter after expanding 12.5% in the third quater and was expected to grow 0.6% this quarter, nearly half the 1.1% predicted a month ago.
ECB’s Latest Stimulus Expected to Have Little Impact on Eurozone Economy
BENGALURU The European Central Bank’s new policy package will have little effect on the eurozone’s coronavirus-ravaged economy, according to the forecasts of a Reuters poll of economists, who nearly halved their outlook for first-quarter growth.
Despite the ECB’s decision to top up its pandemic emergency purchases by half a trillion euros to 1.85 trillion euros and extend the program for nine months, the bloc’s economic outlook remains bleak.
The Reuters poll consensus of over 80 economists forecast the eurozone economy shrank 2.5 percent last quarter after expanding 12.5 percent in the third quarter and was expected to grow 0.6 percent this quarter, nearly half the 1.1 percent predicted a month ago.