European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde stated on Thursday that the economic activity in the Eurozone «has slowed markedly since mid-2022 and that the ECB expects it to stay weak in the near term.
Lagarde remarked that, despite coming above expectations in the fourth quarter by improving by 0.1%, economic activity was pulled down by the Ukrainian conflict, high inflation, and tighter financing conditions, which continue to «dampen spending and production,» particularly in the manufacturing sector.
«However, the supply bottlenecks are gradually easing, the supply gas became more secure and firms are still working off large order backlogs and the confidence is improving,» the president noted, stressing that the services sector outputs continue to hold up, supported by COVID-19 reopening. Lagarde underscored that rising wages and the decline in energy price inflation will ease the loss of purchasing power, in turn supporting consumption.