Banca March: In the eurozone, GDP growth in the second quarter beat forecasts, both in quarterly and year-on-year terms. This resilience is based on the fact that three of the four main economies – France, Spain and Italy – have delivered better than expected figures, offsetting the unexpected contraction in Germany. Aggregate GDP variation in the quarter remained at +0.3%, the same as in the previous quarter, but better than the expected 0.2%. The year-on-year rate of +0.6% was one tenth of a percentage point higher than both the previous figure and the forecast. By country, Spain grew by an exuberant +2.9%, followed by France (+1.1%) and Italy (+0.9%), while Germany fell by -0.1%.
Also in the eurozone, consumer confidence met expectations in July and improved to levels of -13 versus -14 in June, reaching its best level since February 2022.
Adding another disappointment to Germany, CPI rebounded one tenth more than expected to +2.3% from +2.2% previously. Core inflation -excluding food and energy- reached +2.9%, the same value as in June and one tenth below the +3% recorded in May and April.
