Euro-zone economy stuck in ‘malaise’

French economy provides a key area of support

BRUSSELS: The euro-zone’s economy remained at a near standstill in December, extending the worst quarterly performance since 2013, said a closely watched survey by the company IHS Markit. “The euro-zone economy closes out 2019 mired in its worst spell since 2013, with businesses struggling against the headwinds of near-stagnant demand and gloomy prospects for the year ahead,” said Chris Williamson, the firm’s chief business economist.

The forecast only feeds into the gloom also predicted by the European Central Bank, which downgraded growth in the euro-zone for next year to a feeble 1.1 percent. IHS Markit said its composite eurozone PMI, a key business indicator, stagnated at 50.6 points in December, unchanged from the previous month. A reading above 50 points to an expansion. The index’s decline showed business sentiment remained just over the threshold into positive territory.

“The December malaise was once again led by manufacturing, where output slumped at the fastest rate since October 2012,” the report said. By country, business activity fell for a fourth consecutive month in Germany, where the economy has been destabilized by the US-China trade war and slumping demand for autos. France outperformed Germany, though the survey indicated that growth had ticked lower at the end of the year.

The French economy, despite a wave of anti-reform strikes, is “providing a key area of support to help keep the euro-zone growing,” Williamson added. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, however, on Monday said he now expected his country’s economy to grow by just 1.3 percent this year, down from a previous 1.4 percent estimate. This brings the French government’s outlook into line with growth forecasts by both the Bank of France and the Insee national statistics bureau. —AFP

GUWAHATI: A rickshaw puller rides on a road in Guwahati. World stock markets rose yesterday, trading a notch below a record high hit last week on the back of a preliminary trade deal agreed between the United States and China. —AFP (See Page 13)

—AFP MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN, Germany: Aerial view shows the ship ‘Audacia’, from where parts of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline are laid in the Baltic Sea off the coast the island of Ruegen, northeastern Germany. The German-Russian Chamber of Commerce has called for retaliatory sanctions after US lawmakers gave initial approval to a bill that would punish contractors working on the Russian pipeline to Germany. The 9.5-billion-euro ($10.6 billion) Nord Stream 2 pipeline will run under the Baltic Sea and is set to double shipments of Russian natural gas to Germany.