Tentative but Broadly In line…

Economic Research	26 May 2016
EURO AREA
Economic Highlights
Tentative but Broadly In line… Our annual average real GDP growth projections for the Euro Area (EA)--released at the beginning of 2016 (kindly refer to our January 5 special report, “Debating the Debates…”, for details)--of 1.7% and 1.8% for 2016 and 2017, respectively, still seem to be broadly relevant.  But the latest data releases and the apparent lack of near-term momentum in the data could potentially tweak our full-year forecasts slightly lower, perhaps by a tenth to two-tenths per year.  Nevertheless, the gist of our outlook for the EA, which assumes a gradual and modest above-trend growth improvement this year and next--with GDP growth edging slightly above 1.5% on balance--has barely changed from our earlier publication. Economist:  Thomas Lam  | +65 6533 0389
To access our recent reports please click on the links below: 19 May: Rate Hike Debate Intensifies? 09 May: Early Peek into 2q16? 05 May: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back… 28 Apr: Best Guesses & Speculations 18 Apr: Rolling the Dice on the USD/JPY… 12 Apr: Is the Economy Only Slightly Above Water in 1Q 2016? 22 Mar: Is Fed “Guidance” a Potential Source of Volatility? 08 Mar: As Expansions Age, Are They More Likely to Stumble?