LONDON (AP) – The eurozone’s hopes for a strong economic recovery this year have soured over the past couple months, partly because of the crisis over Greece’s future in the currency zone and fading growth in China.
So there’s growing speculation that official figures released Friday will show the 19-country bloc’s growth rate eased during the second quarter.
With most elements of economic activity – such as industrial production, retail sales and construction – already shown to have had a subdued quarter, economists think the quarterly growth rate was unchanged at 0.4 percent. Many note, however, that the figure could disappoint and come in as low as 0.2 percent.
“Recent European data have tended to underwhelm, suggesting that the euro area has struggled to build upon the momentum gained earlier in the year,” said James Nixon, chief European economist at Oxford Economics. “The recovery is therefore delicately placed.”
The stalling in growth would be disappointing for the eurozone, where there was much optimism in early spring that the region was set for a strong pick-up.