FXStreet (Edinburgh) – Analyst at ING Bank Peter Vanden Houte has analized today’s GDP release in the euro area.
Key Quotes
“According to Eurostat’s flash estimate GDP in het second quarter grew by 0.3%, after 0.4% in the first quarter. This was below consensus expectations for a 0.4% expansion. Year-on-year GDP expanded by 1.2% after 1.0% in the first quarter”.
“Even if the growth pace was slightly lower than in the first quarter, the relative immunity of the European economy to the Greek crisis and the Chinese slowdown remains encouraging, although it’s probably still a bit too soon to claim victory on this front. And one mustn’t forget that today’s GDP is still more than 1% below the level reached in the first quarter of 2008”.
“We can only echo the ECB’s Governing Council assessment of the current situation: an expectation of a broadening recovery, with risks remaining tilted to the downside. In that regard we continue to expect that the ECB’s Asset Purchase Program will be implemented in full and that even more can be done, if needed. This implies that excess liquidity will continue to increase, putting further downward pressures on money market rates”.
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