- Steen Jakobsen, chief economist at Saxo Bank
Confidence among Eurozone businesses weakened further in April, strengthening the case for a rate cut this week by the European Central Bank.The European Commission said Monday, that a gauge of economic confidence in the 17-nation economy slipped 1.5 percentage points to 88.6, worse than the decline to 89.3 expected by economists and down from 90.1 a month earlier. A measure of sentiment among European manufacturers dropped to minus 13.8 from minus 12.3 in March. Despite the deterioration in data, Mario Draghi expects the region's economy to recover from a recession later this year, while economists forecast growth in the second quarter.
"We are reaching a trough and the market is betting on the ECB cutting rates to lift the economy," said Steen Jakobsen, chief economist at Saxo Bank. "But lower interests won't solve the euro zone's problems, we need structural reforms and for businesses to invest again."
Also Monday, Greek government passed a bill, which approves a cut of 15,000 civil service by the of next year. The measure is a part of continuing moves by the centre-right government to cut costs and ensure more bailout money from international creditors.
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