ECB pats itself on the back
The European Central Bank (ECB) has today indulged in a session of backslapping, congratulating itself on moves to protect the European economy over the last few months. This comes just hours after the German government announced a significant surge in manufacturing orders which many believe will mark the bottom of the Eurozone recession and could effectively see a recovery later this year.
However, as we have seen in the UK today, with the announcement of an extra £50 billion for the quantitative easing program, nothing is by any means certain and if the ECB were to take its eye off the ball there could be potential problems in the future. The European Central Bank fully expects to revise economic growth forecasts for this year and next year with an indication of further increases. In the short term it looks as though ECB interest rates, currently at 1%, will remain around about this level although as with the UK, there are potential problems ahead with regards to inflation as and when economies start to improve.
Only days ago many people were talking down the Eurozone economy and talking up the UK, although after today's announcements it seems that we have seen a flip-flop of hopes with regards to these two particular economies. Will we see another turnaround in the future?
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