Eurozone economic recovery ECB may continue to stand still

Barclays economists say that due to the stronger than expected economic performance in the Eurozone in the second quarter, the European Central Bank may now keep interest rates unchanged for a longer period of time. Data released earlier this week showed that the Eurozone economy grew by 0.1% in the second quarter, breaking expectations of an economic contraction. Barclays has therefore raised its forecast for Eurozone economic growth this year from 0.8% to 1.1%. In this context, economists say that the European Central Bank is likely to decide to keep interest rates at 2% at the next monetary policy meeting in September.