It is fair to say that it has been a very quiet start to the week for economic data from the eurozone. However, given how disappointing recent releases have been, perhaps that is just as well. Germany – the eurozone’s largest economy – has been particularly disappointing of late, with recent data leading to Deutsche Bank saying that a recession is coming.
Then last week we saw German factory orders unexpectedly drop by 1.6% in December. Growth forecasts for countries across the eurozone have been revised downwards and the outlook does not look great at present. The global economy is struggling, but the eurozone appears to be taking the brunt of it.
Which all makes today’s industrial production figures more interesting than they might ordinarily be. In November, the year-on-year figures showed a contraction of 3.3% and in December they are expected to have dipped by 3.2%. That would be extremely concerning. Tomorrow is the biggest day of the week though, with GDP growth rates for Germany and the eurozone set for release. We could be in for a volatile rest of the week.
