It seems to be that almost everywhere you look there is a confidence vote going on somewhere, with the Greek Prime Minister just the latest to survive one. Fears of a snap election in Greece have abated somewhat following the result, but there are still plenty of challenges to overcome. The problems came about following Alexis Tsipras agreeing to the landmark Macedonia name-change accord and they are far from over with this victory. Then there is the continued pressure the government are under from creditors who bailed out the country.
Construction output in the eurozone grew by 0.9% in November from the same month a year previous, following a downwardly revised 0.6% gain the previous month. On a monthly basis, output shrank by 0.1% after declining by 1.6% in October. The eurozone’s inflation rate came in at 1.6% in December from 1.9% the previous month, which was in line with expectations.
There are no major economic releases from the eurozone today, although we will see the current account figures for November. Last time around, they came in at €26.6 billion and it will be interesting to see what the reading is this time around, especially given the recent signs that the eurozone economy is struggling.
