Geneva, Switzerland -- The World Trade Organization said Wednesday that global trade should rebound this year from an unexpected slump in 2023, but warned that regional conflicts, geopolitical tensions and economic policy uncertainty risked darkening the picture. In its annual trade forecast, the WTO disclosed that world trade volumes unexpectedly declined...

Oil prices rose around one percent, with Brent crude closing in on $90 per barrel, as OPEC experts met to discuss extending supply cuts. "Geo-political risks linked to conflict in the Middle East, OPEC supply cuts and better data out of China are helping to drive bullish sentiment currently," said...

The data supports comments by European Central Bank (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde, who has warned that Europe should remain on guard despite falling inflation.

Marrakech, Morocco-- The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its growth forecasts for China and the euro zone and said overall global growth remained low and uneven despite what it called the "remarkable strength" of the U.S. economy. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF left its forecast for...

Brussels, Belgium - The annual rate of inflation in the eurozone remained unchanged in August as there was a smaller drop in energy prices, the EU's official statistics agency said Thursday. Consumer prices reached 5.3 percent in August, although there was also a slowdown in the rise of food and drinks...

The painful PMI data comes as the European Central Bank is eyeing a further rate hike this week in its quest to tame inflation.

BERLIN, GERMANY - The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Saturday it wants to monitor the liquidity of banks in the eurozone more frequently to reduce the future risk of a financial crisis. "We decided to send banks, starting in September, a request for information on a weekly basis, in order...

While the advance by the Wagner mercenary force led by Yevgeny Prigozhin was called off before it reached Moscow, analysts said the rebellion showed President Vladimir Putin's grip on power was more fragile than previously thought. It also added to unease on trading floors, where investors last week reversed a...

BERLIN, GERMANY - On his many visits to semiconductor factories and electric car plants, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz bangs the drum for an economy at the forefront of an industrial transformation. But the picture painted by business leaders and experts is less rosy, predicting hard times to come for Europe's largest...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -  Eurozone economic activity worsened in June to a five-month low, hit hard by a fall in industrial production, a keenly watched survey showed on Friday. The eurozone entered a technical recession at the start of the year, according to official figures published earlier this month. But inflation remains...

The hike was the highest since 2001, despite a darkening economic outlook. The ECB increased rates by another 25 basis points, taking the closely watched deposit rate to 3.50 percent -- its highest level since 2001. "Inflation has been coming down but is projected to remain too high for too...

The eurozone entered into a technical recession at the start of the year, shrinking by 0.1 percent for a second consecutive quarter, figures from the EU's statistic agency showed. Eurostat revised down an earlier forecast that had predicted slight growth, after economic powerhouse Germany said last month it had fallen...

European Central Bank vice president Luis de Guindos on Wednesday previewed the slowing eurozone inflation rate, calling it "positive" but cautioning that "I would not say that the victory is there".

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -  The European Commission boosted its 2023 economic growth outlook for the eurozone on Monday but it also raised the inflation forecast for the single currency area. The EU executive's spring forecast is more optimistic than that issued late last year, despite inflation proving "stickier than expected" in its...

FRANKFURT, GERMANY -  Eurozone banks tightened lending criteria in the first quarter at their fastest pace since the 2011 sovereign debt crisis, while demand for loans fell heavily, according to a European Central Bank survey released Tuesday. The results highlight the impact of aggressive monetary tightening combined with recent banking sector...

The Frankfurt-based institution has already lifted rates 3.5 percentage points since July last year to tame energy and food costs that surged after Russia invaded Ukraine. But there is debate about whether the ECB will opt for a 50-basis point hike -- as it did at its previous three meetings...

Germany, the EU's biggest economy, saw growth stagnate at zero percent over the previous quarter. Year-on-year, Germany was the only country in the single-currency zone to record a contraction, of 0.1 percent.

Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB), said the indices for the eurozone showed "a very friendly overall picture of an economy that continues to recover" but warned "a closer look reveals that growth is very unevenly distributed". Inflation fell to 6.9 percent on an annual...

FRANKFURT, GERMANY - More eurozone interest rate increases will be appropriate to tame high inflation if conditions remain as expected, the European Central Bank's chief economist said Wednesday. The ECB has hiked rates by 3.5 percentage points since July last year in an unprecedented campaign of monetary tightening to bring soaring...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - Economic growth in the eurozone accelerated in March and hit a 10-month high, according to a closely watched survey published on Friday, despite turmoil in the markets and concerns over banks. The S&P Global Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed the indicator at 54.1, up from 52.0...

The ECB president insisted, however, that if the most recent forecasts were confirmed, "we will still have ground to cover to make sure that inflation pressures are stamped out".

Brussels, Belgium - The eurozone annual inflation rate fell to 8.5 percent in February, the EU's statistics agency said Thursday, but the drop was less than expected as food costs soar. Inflation was down last month from 8.6 percent in January but analysts at financial data firm FactSet had forecast...

FRANKFURT, GERMANY - More interest rate increases may be needed beyond the one coming later this month, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said Thursday, as inflation in the eurozone remains stubbornly high. "At this point in time, it's possible that we continue on that path," Lagarde told Spain's Antena 3...

The rhetoric has shifted from talk of a recession in the 20-nation club to "a small contraction", she said, with some major economies like Germany possibly dodging a contraction altogether.

Stock markets mostly advanced as traders awaited key US jobs data and after news of falling inflation in the eurozone. Global equities have enjoyed a largely solid start to the new year, though Wall Street slid on expectations that the Federal Reserve is in no rush to stop hiking US...

Experts say the adoption of the euro will help shield Croatia's economy at a time when inflation is soaring worldwide after Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent food and fuel prices through the roof.

As part of its monetary policy tightening, the ECB will on Thursday outline the next steps in its efforts to slim down the bank's massive balance sheet. It has already made changes to the terms of an ultra-cheap bank loan scheme, aimed at keeping credit flowing during the pandemic, in...

Global stocks rose as Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell flagged a moderation in interest rate hikes, while China signaled a softer approach to fighting Covid. Asian and European equities tacked higher as investors eyed news that eurozone unemployment fell to a record 6.5 percent in October. Oil prices climbed before...

Volatile markets were mostly trading up after the ECB announced an expected hike to interest rates in the face of sky-high inflation and the US economy posted positive figures. The European Central Bank rolled out another increase of 75 basis points, despite growing concern the eurozone is hurtling towards a...

Economic activity in the eurozone plummeted further in October and Germany, the EU's top economy, looks headed for a recession, a closely watched survey showed Monday.

Stoked by a staggering 40.8 percent rise in energy prices, the yearly inflation rate in the 19-country single currency area hit its highest level since records began, according to Eurostat. The historic level of inflation will encourage the European Central Bank to stay on its current path of rate hikes.

Stock markets tumbled, the pound crashed against the dollar and oil prices slumped on growing recession fears after central banks this week hiked interest rates to fight inflation. Monetary policymakers have been forced to go on the offensive, warning that short-term hits to economies are less painful than the long-term...

Driven by soaring energy prices caused by Russia's invasion in Ukraine, the yearly inflation rate in the 19-country single currency area reached 9.1 percent, its highest since records began, according to Eurostat. Consumer prices had accelerated to 8.9 percent in July.

World stocks sank Monday and the dollar rallied on concern the Federal Reserve will stick to its interest rate-hiking plans to combat inflation. Eurozone equities tanked as spiking natural gas prices sparked fears that winter energy shortages could cause recession, which helped push the euro down to a 20-year low...

Global stocks fell Wednesday and the euro dipped below $1.00 for the first time in nearly 20 years after data showed a surge in US inflation last month, convincing investors that further increases in borrowing costs are on their way.

The euro struck parity with the dollar for the first time in nearly 20 years on Tuesday as a cut in Russian gas supplies to Europe heightened fears of a recession in the eurozone.

The region is better placed to deal with global slowdown as oil and gas prices will stay high due to supply restrictions, Jean Claus, CEO of Allianz Trade Middle East, tells TRENDS.

Wall Street stocks shrugged off early weakness to begin the second half of 2022 on a solid note Friday, but record eurozone inflation underscored the potential for more turbulence ahead. New York equities spent much of the morning in the red, absorbing an industry survey showing slowing growth in the...

British economic output declined for the second month in a row in April, weighed down by rocketing prices that are causing a cost-of-living crisis for millions of Britons.

The European Central Bank is set to announce the end date to its bond-buying stimulus on Thursday, as concerns over the accelerating pace of inflation in the eurozone grip policymakers. The stop is a prelude to the ECB hiking rates for the first time in over a decade in the...

The unemployment rate in the eurozone reached its lowest level ever recorded in March, the EU's official statistics agency said on Tuesday. Eurostat said 6.8 percent of the workforce were without a job, down 0.1 percentage point from February. The February figure was revised upwards fractionally from the 6.8 percent...

Economic growth in the eurozone accelerated and hit a seven-month high in April, a key survey showed on Friday, despite concerns about inflation and Russia's war in Ukraine. Meanwhile goods and services prices rose at an unprecedented rate in April amid another near-record rise in firms' costs.

Those countries "that have a common border with either Russia or Ukraine" would be particularly affected, while bearing the brunt of refugee flows from Ukraine, said the OECD report.

Economic growth in the eurozone slowed sharply in January, a key survey showed Monday, as new coronavirus restrictions hit consumer spending, raising a new obstacle for the region's recovery.

European leaders heaped praise on German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday as she attended what is likely her last EU summit after a 16-year reign heavily influencing the bloc through major ups and downs.