020 7898 0500The key release from the eurozone on Friday was the balance of trade for March. The surplus had been expected to widen to €27.9 billion from €18.9 billion the month before, but it actually came in at €26.9 billion. Perhaps more importantly, the figure showed a contraction from the same month a year previous. This is a real indication that growth appears to be slowing across the eurozone and economic projections could yet prove a little too optimistic.
It is a quiet start to the week for eurozone economic data, but on Wednesday we will see the German Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for May, as well as the composite, manufacturing and services PMI across the eurozone. We will also see the final reading of Germany’s GDP growth rate for the first quarter of 2018 on Thursday, as well as German consumer confidence for June.
