Euro Zone Economic Growth Rebounds

By Godlove BAINKONG, Cameroon Tribune, 12-05-2014
Reports say the 28 nations could grow by 1.6% for 2014 up from the 1.5 % February forecast.
Economic growth in the Euro zone is gradually bouncing back and forecast for 2014 is said to be at 1.6 per cent. Reports say the European Union Commission expects the job market to continue to improve; forecasting EU unemployment will fall to 10.1 per cent this year. In March, the rate was 10.5 per cent.

Unemployment in the euro-area is expected to fall to 11.4 per cent, from 11.8 per cent in March. BBC reports quote Siim Kallas, the Commission’s vice-president, as saying that “The recovery has now taken hold. Deficits have declined, investment is rebounding and, importantly, the employment situation has started improving.”

Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, is expected to grow 1.8 per cent this year. Germany’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had expanded by a meager 0.4 per cent in 2013, the country's statistics office, Destatis, announced. But analysts say the 2014 growth is forecast to be much more modest for the euro-area's other big economies: Inflation is expected to remain low in 2014, at 0.8 per cent for the euro-area. That is lower than its previous forecast of 1.0 per cent made in February.

According to New York Times, the Markit’s composite index of economic activity, based on a survey of purchasing managers across the 18 nations that use the euro, rose to 54 in April from 53.1 in March — the strongest growth since May 2011. It was the 10^th consecutive monthly increase.

The Euro zone economic recovery is certainly good news for Africa and Cameroon in particular which has Europe as its main export partner for produce like cocoa, coffee, timber, banana et al. This is comforting as government’s efforts to boost local production will have the assurance that what is finally produced will meet a ready market in Europe.