Eurozone slowdown could mean more stimulus

All remains unwell in the Eurozone.

The latest figures show the Eurozone economy growing by 0.3% in the third quarter.

This represents a slowdown compared with the 0.4% growth recorded in the second quarter and included a slowing in the pace of expansion in Germany, the Eurozone’s largest economy.

With the Eurozone economy slowing, the European Central Bank is widely expected by economists to expand its monetary stimulus programme next month.

Commenting on the figures, Azad Zangana, Senior European Economist at Schroders, said:

“Overall, the latest official growth data from Europe suggests a slowdown in activity, but a reasonably robust and stable recovery.

“There is little here to cause alarm, and would not be enough to trigger any major change in monetary policy.

“That said, European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi appears very eager to expand quantitative easing for Europe, despite reasonable growth and recent upside surprises in inflation.

“The case for more stimulus has weakened, especially as markets have increased bets on the Federal Reserve raising its policy interest rate in December, which has helped reverse the recent appreciation of the euro against the US dollar which had caused concerns for the ECB.”

It will be interesting to see which way the ECB decision goes in December, and what impact this has on European markets between now and Christmas.