16.04.2015, 02:22
PwC Luxembourg Monthly Barometer - April 2015
OREANDA-NEWS. April 16, 2015. In March, our barometer was up from the previous month and reached +32. The state of the European economy is mostly the reason for the renewed confidence.
In Luxembourg, the confidence index of industrial manufacturers and consumers was down slightly, despite indicators pointing to improved demand.
The consumer price index for March gained 0.14% compared with the previous month. Luxembourg's current account (which includes exports minus imports of goods and services and also includes current transfers) improved by €300 million compared with 2013. In late January 2015, industrial production had risen by 12.7% year on year, thus outperforming the rest of the European Union. Finally, the job market was also more buoyant. Employee numbers rose by 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared with the previous quarter. Luxembourg confirms its position as the euro zone’s largest financial centre, even though it lost two places in the Global Financial Centre Index. In Europe, investors are gradually regaining confidence and deflation and stagnation threats have receded.
According to Markit, private sector activity grew stronger than anticipated in March. The Bank of Spain revised its growth forecast upwards to 2.8% for 2015. The unemployment rate, which is the last indicator to be affected when the economy is improving, was down for the third month in a row in January: 11.2% of the labour force was unemployed according to Eurostat. The ECB’s quantitative easing programme seems to be quite successful, as it restores the confidence required to boost consumption and ward off devaluation. As such, it is one of the reasons for the improvement. However, the talks relating to the rise in US interest rates might adversely impact the global economic climate. Furthermore, China’s manufacturing output has deteriorated and is the lowest it has been in 11 months.
The consumer price index for March gained 0.14% compared with the previous month. Luxembourg's current account (which includes exports minus imports of goods and services and also includes current transfers) improved by €300 million compared with 2013. In late January 2015, industrial production had risen by 12.7% year on year, thus outperforming the rest of the European Union. Finally, the job market was also more buoyant. Employee numbers rose by 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared with the previous quarter. Luxembourg confirms its position as the euro zone’s largest financial centre, even though it lost two places in the Global Financial Centre Index. In Europe, investors are gradually regaining confidence and deflation and stagnation threats have receded.
According to Markit, private sector activity grew stronger than anticipated in March. The Bank of Spain revised its growth forecast upwards to 2.8% for 2015. The unemployment rate, which is the last indicator to be affected when the economy is improving, was down for the third month in a row in January: 11.2% of the labour force was unemployed according to Eurostat. The ECB’s quantitative easing programme seems to be quite successful, as it restores the confidence required to boost consumption and ward off devaluation. As such, it is one of the reasons for the improvement. However, the talks relating to the rise in US interest rates might adversely impact the global economic climate. Furthermore, China’s manufacturing output has deteriorated and is the lowest it has been in 11 months.
PwC Luxembourg's Monthly Barometer was created in cooperation with AGEFI Luxembourg as a simple and practical tool designed to provide a monthly snapshot of the economic climate in Luxembourg.
The barometer combines the results of Statec's short-term indicator on industrial output in Luxembourg with data published by ZEW, a German research institute, on the economic perceptions of analysts and investors regarding the euro area.
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