Euro-area consumer confidence increased more than economists forecast in March, adding to signs that the currency bloc’s recovery is gaining traction.
An index of household confidence in the euro area rose to minus 9.3 from minus 12.7 in February, the European Commission in Brussels said in a preliminary report today.
That exceeds the median forecast of minus 12.3 in a Bloomberg News survey of 31 economists. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is trying to sustain the recovery from a debt crisis that almost splintered the euro area by guaranteeing monetary policy will stay accommodative.
He said this month that “a stock of slack” in the economy is prompting the central bank to maintain its stance even after data show improvement.
European car sales rose 7.6 percent in February, the sixth consecutive monthly gain, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said this week.
Still, the increase was helped by price cuts that boosted demand for new models from Renault SA and Volkswagen AG and government incentives in Spain.
While the euro-area economy is forecast to post full-year growth in 2014 for the first time in three years, the recovery remains at risk amid near-record unemployment and subdued price pressures.
Inflation unexpectedly slowed in February to an annual 0.7 percent from 0.8 percent in January, compared with the ECB’s goal of keeping price growth just below 2 percent over the medium term.
bloomberg.com
An index of household confidence in the euro area rose to minus 9.3 from minus 12.7 in February, the European Commission in Brussels said in a preliminary report today.
That exceeds the median forecast of minus 12.3 in a Bloomberg News survey of 31 economists. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is trying to sustain the recovery from a debt crisis that almost splintered the euro area by guaranteeing monetary policy will stay accommodative.
He said this month that “a stock of slack” in the economy is prompting the central bank to maintain its stance even after data show improvement.
European car sales rose 7.6 percent in February, the sixth consecutive monthly gain, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said this week.
Still, the increase was helped by price cuts that boosted demand for new models from Renault SA and Volkswagen AG and government incentives in Spain.
While the euro-area economy is forecast to post full-year growth in 2014 for the first time in three years, the recovery remains at risk amid near-record unemployment and subdued price pressures.
Inflation unexpectedly slowed in February to an annual 0.7 percent from 0.8 percent in January, compared with the ECB’s goal of keeping price growth just below 2 percent over the medium term.
bloomberg.com
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