Economic Prospects Remain Good for the Euro Area

Leading indicators on the evolution of the euro area economy let believe that growth will continue at a stable and moderate pace in the coming months. The Conference Board published yesterday its monthly leading economic index for the euro zone. The most recent data are the ones for February
( for details : http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=10 ).

But the outlook has many pitfalls. Consumer confidence is down in March, and it will be possible to compare it with the sentiment of other economic actors when the European Commission publishes tomorrow its Economic Sentiment Indicator  ( http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/db_indicators/surveys/index_en.htm ). Inflation is relatively high, but the challenge is how to achieve lower inflation without impairing economic growth. The refinancing of the public debt in many countries is still a major issue. The unemployment rate remains high in the zone. The outlook is quite unequal from one country to an other.