020 7898 0500Draghi is really rather good at keeping the euro in check and you do have to wonder just how much stronger it might be were it not for his consistently dovish tone. Take yesterday for instance, the ECB remove a statement alluding to the fact they would consider increasing their monthly €30 billion of bond-buying if the eurozone economy deteriorated, and Draghi still manages to make this seem like an action that was out of their control. He makes aggressive moves look like the opposite and benefits eurozone exports. Hats off to you sir.
The ECB also raised growth forecasts, as Draghi stated that eurozone growth will expand at a faster pace than previously thought. The revised figure shows 2018 growth is now expected to be 2.4% (from 2.3%), but 2019 and 2020 remain unchanged at 1.9% and 1.7% respectively. Draghi also alluded to the potential trade war and said it would hurt the eurozone’s recovery (to my mind it would hurt every country’s economic recovery).
Today we will see the German balance of trade for January, as well as the industrial production figures. Month-on-month, German production fell by 0.6% in December, but is expected to increase by 0.5% in January. It will be interesting to see if this proves to be the case.
