Eurostat: European data round-up
Overview:
Recent data releases from Eurostat confirm the European Commission’s forecasts that a fragile economic recovery is underway with little signs of inflationary pressure. Q4 GDP data confirms that the downturn is moderating in the majority of countries in the EU. Poland was the best performer and Latvia the worst amongst the Eastern European countries on a full-year 2009 basis. The Czech Republic is also performing well while Bulgaria is struggling to come out of recession. January industrial production data confirms this modest recovery with the majority of countries recording positive y-o-y growth but helped largely by a positive base effect from the sharp contraction endured this time last year. Finally, inflation readings for February confirm that deflation has been avoided but there is little need for rate hikes.