Europe has been the center of pessimistic fundamental data in recent months as the global growth slowdown advances. Elevated interest rates are helping to constrain economic activity in order to bring down inflation but it remains a delicate balancing act as policy makers intend to avoid throwing the economy into a recession.
The euro area, according to two of the three estimates, contracted in Q3 of this year following a positive 0.2% expansion in Q2. However, the two quarters before that registered growth of 0% – highlighting the major headwinds for Europe.
