Recovery Takes Hold in Euro Area, but Economy Will Only Grow at a Modest Pace for Rest of 2013
- Euro Area GDP rose modestly in the second quarter, with conditions in most economies strengthening.
- Business and consumer confidence continue to improve, but are still at fairly low levels.
- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area continued rising in July.
- A slow recovery will take a long time to undo the legacy of economic contraction and high unemployment since 2008, especially because protracted periods of high unemployment reduce the capabilities of workers for the long term.
- Emerging market slowdown and potential financial risks are constraints on the strength of recovery.
