Category: eurozone

Eurozone to Avoid Recession, Growth to Accelerate in Third Quarter: ECB Survey

FRANKFURT—The eurozone will avoid a recession this year and growth will accelerate noticeably after bottoming out in the second quarter, a key European Central Bank survey showed on Monday. The economy is now expected to grow by 0.1 percent in the second quarter, accelerating to 0.4 percent in both the third and fourth quarters, the…


Producer Price Inflation in Eurozone Soars to Record High

Producer price inflation in the eurozone surged to a record high in the year through April, though month-over-month data showed inflationary pressures edging down, as European Central Bank officials consider how fast and how much to tighten monetary settings to tame soaring prices. The E.U. statistics office Eurostat said in a June 2 statement (pdf) that the…


Eurozone Investor Morale Plummets in March on Ukraine Crisis

FRANKFURT—Investor morale in the eurozone plunged in March in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its implications for the global economy, a survey showed on Monday. Sentix’s index for the eurozone fell to -7.0 in March from 16.6 the previous month, hitting its lowest level since November 2020. A Reuters poll of…


ECB Could Raise Rates in Summer Before Ending Bond Buys: Holzmann

ZURICH—The European Central Bank could begin increasing interest rates before ending its bond purchasing programme, ECB policymaker Robert Holzmann said, challenging the bank’s long-held view on the sequence of its upcoming policy moves. With inflation hitting fresh record highs in recent months, the ECB recently walked back on a pledge not to raise rates this…


IMF Backs ECB’s Easy Policy as It Sees Inflation Easing

FRANKFURT—The European Central Bank has been right to maintain its easy money policy as inflation is set to fall after “transient boosts” from supply snags that may extend into next year, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. Backing from her former employer was likely to bring some relief to ECB President Christine Lagarde as…


ECB Warns About Vulnerable Property Market in Eurozone

FRANKFURT—The property market is a “key vulnerability” for eurozone banks as the rise of remote working since the pandemic dents demand for offices and households take on more debt to buy expensive homes, the European Central Bank said on Wednesday. Central bankers have been ringing alarm bells about the eurozone’s booming property market that has…


ECB to Raise Deposit Rate to -0.25 Percent by Year-End: Poll

BENGALURU—The European Central Bank will raise its deposit rate in the second half of this year, and not wait until 2023 as previously expected, according to a Reuters poll of economists who also sharply upgraded their inflation forecasts for this year. The change in view followed a shift in the ECB Governing Council to concerns…


Eurozone Inflation Doesn’t Require Significant Policy Tightening, ECB’s Lane Says

FRANKFURT—Eurozone inflation will return to trend without significant policy tightening by the European Central Bank as pandemic-related bottlenecks in goods as well as labor are resolved, the ECB’s chief economist Philip Lane said on Thursday. Lane was defending his long-held view that the current, record-high inflation rate in the eurozone was temporary in the face…


Eurozone Firms See Wages Rising by 3 Percent or More, ECB Says

FRANKFURT—Eurozone companies expect wages to rise by 3 percent or more this year as workers demand to be compensated for inflation and it becomes more difficult to find staff such as builders and software engineers, the European Central Bank said on Friday. Wage growth is a crucial indicator for the ECB in assessing the future…


Eurozone Retail Sales Dive in December, Biggest Drop in Countries With Most Restrictive COVID Policies

Retail sales in the 19 European countries that use the euro came in far weaker than expected in December, the same month that saw inflation in the region spike to a record high, with the biggest retail sales drops concentrated in countries with the strictest COVID-19 measures. Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency, reported Friday…