No Scary Friday the 13th for Europe but Jitters Remain

Growth in the euro zone economy slowed in the third quarter from the second, according to new data from Eurostat, failing to meet expectations.

Preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) data for the third quarter showed the euro zone grew 0.3 percent quarter on quarter, below forecasts from analysts polled by Reuters for a 0.4 percent expansion. The economy grew 1.6 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The loss in momentum comes despite European Central Bank stimulus, in the form of its 1 trillion euro quantitative easing (QE) program, and a weakened single currency that should have boosted exports.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said the subdued pace of growth and persistent weak inflation “applies further pressure on the ECB and increases the likelihood of the further measures being announced in December.”

“All eyes now turn to the ECB as it weighs up what measures to take to lift the region’s growth rate higher. Further cuts to the deposit rate, an increase in both the size, quality and duration of the current QE program have all been widely mooted as possibilities,” he said in a note Friday.

CNBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.