BRUSSELS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The eurozone faces continued contraction in 2013, with its economic output expected to shrink by 0.3 percent, said the winter forecast released by the European Commission on Friday.
It will come after a 0.6-percent contraction last year for the debt-laden 17-state monetary union.
As for the 27-nation EU, the report projects a 0.1-percent growth in 2013.
The report attributes poor economic performance in both areas to disappointing economic activities despite improvement in financial market conditions since last summer.
"However, leading indicators suggest that GDP in the EU is now bottoming out and we expect economic activity to gradually accelerate," said the report.
"We have disappointing hard data from the end of last year, some more encouraging soft data in the recent past, and growing investor confidence in the future," said EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Olli Rehn.
"The decisive policy action undertaken recently is paving the way for a return to recovery. We must stay the course of reform and avoid any loss of momentum, which could undermine the turnaround in confidence that is underway, delaying the needed upswing in growth and job creation," Rehn added.
The winter economic forecast expects a year-on-year growth of 1.4 percent in the eurozone and 1.6 percent in the EU in 2014.
The report expects a gradual pickup of consumption and investment after a series of important policy measures since last summer, which will solve the problem of a combination of cyclical weakness, uncertainty and the protracted adjustment of balance sheets and redeployment of resources across the economy.
Besides, return of confidence in household and business, as well as easing of financial market, will also help open the way for a gradual return of consumption and investment growth in the course of 2013, according to the report.
However, the report expects unemployment rates in both areas to continue rising in 2013 despite the above-mentioned efforts, with jobless rates to hit 11.1 percent and 12.2 percent in the EU and the eurozone respectively.
BRUSSELS, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The eurozone's economy shrank by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter last year, registering the sharpest decline over nearly four years, the statistics office of the European Union (EU) showed Thursday. Full story
BRUSSELS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The eurozone's trade in goods recorded a surplus of 81.8 billion euro (109.2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2012, compared with a deficit of 15.7 billion euro in 2011, Eurostat said Friday. Full story
LONDON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- More than five years after the financial crisis, tensions in global financial markets, notably those in Europe, have eased in recent months, the London-based think-tank National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has said.
In its latest global economic forecast published on Tuesday, NIESR's principal research fellow Dawn Holland attributed such improvements to the EU's commitment to maintaining the integrity of the eurozone and U.S. agreements over "fiscal cliff" to avoid the most tightening measures that would have pushed the economy toward recession. Full story
BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- As global elites gathered at the Swiss ski resort of Davos for their annual brainstorming, they were asked to find ways to build a more resilient and dynamic world economy.
Four years after the 2008 financial crisis struck, the Davos attendants felt somewhat relieved that the worst part of the global nightmare might be finally over. However, that feeling is unwarranted as the debt bombs in the developed world are yet to be defused.Full story
BRUSSELS, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Several eurozone finance ministers on Monday said currency issues should be discussed in the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) meeting of central bank governors and finance ministers in Moscow to avoid exchange rate volatility.
In response to media questions about euro's recent appreciation, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers that "it was part of our discussion.Full story
|
