BENGALURU—The European Central Bank’s new policy package will have little effect on the eurozone’s coronavirus-ravaged economy, according to the forecasts of a Reuters poll of economists, who nearly halved their outlook for first-quarter growth. Despite the ECB’s decision to top up its pandemic emergency purchases by half a trillion euros to 1.85 trillion euros and extend the program for nine months, the bloc’s economic outlook remains bleak. The Reuters poll consensus of over 80 economists forecast the eurozone economy shrank 2.5 percent last quarter after expanding 12.5 percent in the third quarter and was expected to grow 0.6 percent this quarter, nearly half the 1.1 percent predicted a month ago. It was then expected to expand 2.3 percent, 1.9 percent, and 1.0 percent in the second, third, and fourth quarters, largely unchanged from last month’s forecasts collected just before the ECB introduced more stimulus. Over 70 percent of economists, or …
ECB’s Latest Stimulus Expected to Have Little Impact on Eurozone Economy
January 18, 2021
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