European economy ends second quarter on strong footing

[Strengthandhonour]

European economy ends second quarter on strong footing

BRUSSELS: The 13 nations that share Europe's single currency are ending the first half of the year at a brisk economic pace despite the strong euro, soaring oil prices and rising interest rates, official data showed yesterday.
And after hitting a six-year high in May, confidence in Europe's economic outlook stabilised this month at an elevated level, according to a widely watched EU survey.
The European Commission's (EC) eurozone economic sentiment indicator did ease a bit to 111.7 points this month from 112.1 in May, as forecast by economists.
But the outlook was broadly stable in the full 27-member European Union, where the indicator slipped only marginally to 114.9 points from 115.0 in May, the EU's executive arm said.
"The stabilisation of economic sentiment in the EU was the net effect of an increase in confidence in the industry sector offsetting declines in the services and retail trade sectors and among consumers," the Commission said.
Among individual countries, a mixed picture also emerged with confidence improving in Britain, Spain and Poland, falling in Italy and European heavyweight Germany and roughly stable in France.
However, a separate eurozone business climate indicator from the EC showed a slight improvement, recovering from a dip in May to 1.54 points in June and beating economists' expectations for a decline to 1.48.
"Business sentiment is only marginally off its recent highs, despite the strength of oil prices and the euro, benefiting from still healthy order books," said economist Howard Archer with consultants Global Insight.
"Meanwhile, consumer confidence remains near the six-year high seen in May, reflecting increased overall optimism about jobs, the economy and personal financial situations," he added.
Although the Commission's survey showed consumer confidence slightly weaker in June, what has long been the weak link in the eurozone economy has steadily improved over the last year.
Consumers have become less hesitant about opening their wallets thanks in part to a gradual decline in unemployment, which hit the lowest level on record in April at 7.1 per cent, according to the most recent EU figures.
According to the a forecast from the European Commission, the eurozone economy is set to outpace both the US and Japan this year with growth of 2.6pc, down marginally from 2.7pc last year.



source: Gulf Daily News

[dime]

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^^great news for Europe