Industrial production in the 17-nation currency zone rose 0.7 percent in
June from May, Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union, reported
from Luxembourg. The agency also revised down the size of the decline
in May, to 0.2 percent, rather than the 0.3 percent previously reported.
The data came a day before Eurostat is scheduled to release its first
estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product, and expectations of
good news were supported by the results of a survey
that showed growing confidence in Germany. The ZEW institute, an
economic research organization based in Mannheim, said its economic
sentiment indicator had risen to 42.0 points, up by 5.7 points from
July, and well above its historical average of 23.7 points.
“The euro zone’s recession ended when the snow melted last Easter,”
Christian Schulz, an economist at Berenberg Bank in London, wrote in a
research note. Having contracted for six straight quarters, he said, the
euro zone economy “probably expanded modestly” in the April-June
quarter “and will gain further momentum in the second half of the year.”
Ben May, an economist in London with...Read more...
