The eurozone’s economy deserves the highest praise for its remarkable performance in 2017. Interestingly, the euro block entered the year of 2017 on a pessimistic note. The political and economic turbulence was triggered by a variety of factors such as growing popularity of far-right parties in France, Germany, and the Netherlands and a looming scenario of their victory in the parliamentary elections, a grave refugee crisis, protracted soft inflation, the food embargo imposed by Russia, the mounting protectionist sentiment, etc. Despite all negatives, the euro area is approaching the year end with roaring success.
Paying tribute to a rapid pace of economic recovery in Europe, the IMF termed the monetary union of 19 states “the main driver of the global trade”. According to flash estimates of the European Commission, the eurozone’s economy has expanded by 2.2% this year at the fastest pace for the recent 10 years. Moreover, among winning European assets this year is the single European currency which has rocketed up almost 13% against the US dollar. Judging by trading sentiment, the euro is keeping the momentum. In mid-December, traders opened an enormous volume of long positions on EUR FX futures and options that is acknowledged to be the biggest for at least a decade.
No wonder the countries outside the euro block also revealed interesting developments. Robust economic activity inside the eurozone has made a benign impact on the European periphery. Thus, three largest economies of Eastern Europe – Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic – have outpaced even Germany in terms of GDP growth. These countries have reached the booming phase, accompanied by an upturn in domestic economies, low unemployment rates, and controlled inflation.
