- Christian Noyer, Bank of France President
The Euro zone' trade surplus widened in November, as exports rose, while imports dropped, amid a weaker Euro and falling oil prices that are softening the impact of a precipitous decline in sales to Russia. Unadjusted for seasonal swings, exports to the rest of the world climbed 1% and imports declined 2%, swelling the currency bloc's trade surplus to 20 billion euros compared with 16.5 billion euros in November 2013, Eurostat said. On month-on-month basis, exports were up 0.2%.
A separate report showed that the Euro zone's number one economy considerably accelerated its annual economic growth over the previous year. Nevertheless, the overall pace of growth remained below the booming recovery years of 2010 and 2011. German gross domestic product expanded 1.5% over 2014 on an annual basis, more than the 0.1% growth seen a year ago, the Federal Statistical Office said. However, positive growth data would not be enough to change ECB policy makers' mind concerning the necessity of further stimulus measures and prevent the Euro from falling, as growth in the currency area remains weak. According to the Bank of France Head Christian Noyer, 2015 is set to be a good year, as falling oil prices and weaker Euro will provide support to the fragile economy of the bloc. However, Noyer stressed a need of implementation of reforms required for growth to return.
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