Real GDP growth in the euro area decelerated from 2,1 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 to 1,2 per cent in the second quarter. Much of this weakness stemmed from disappointing growth in Germany and a contraction in output in France. By contrast, real output growth surprised positively in Greece. Meanwhile, euro area consumer inflation turned positive in recent months, although still remaining muted. The European Central Bank (ECB) expects inflation to pick up towards the end of 2016 due to base effects, and to accelerate further in 2017 and 2018. In March 2016 the ECB lowered several key policy rates and expanded its bond-buying programme from €60 billion to €80 billion per month to stimulate economic activity and address deflationary risks. The ECB has since maintained its policy stance and confirmed that quantitative easing is set to continue at least until March 2017. Real economic growth in the UK accelerated from 1,8 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 to 2,4 per cent in the second quarter. However, the Brexit referendum result has cast substantial uncertainty over economic prospects for the UK economy. Recent business surveys covering manufacturing, construction and services have already indicated a significant decline in activity. Although the Bank of England (BoE) still expects the UK economy to avoid a recession, it has lowered its 2017 growth projection from 2,3 per cent to 0,8 per cent. Meanwhile, consumer price inflation accelerated to 0,6 per cent in July 2016. Even though inflation is well below the BoE’s inflation target of 2,0 per cent, a sharp pickup in inflation is expected over the next six months following the depreciation of the British pound. At its August 2016 Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the central bank adopted measures to support economic growth by reducing its policy rate to 0,25 per cent, buying corporate bonds amounting to £10 billion and increasing the purchases of government bonds by £60 billion to £435 billion. Economic growth in emerging Asia decelerated somewhat to 6,4 per cent in the second quarter of 2016. Real GDP growth in China accelerated to 7,1 per cent in the second quarter from 6,5 per cent in the first quarter. Although growth in China has moderated significantly from the double-digit rates achieved in 2011, the pace of expansion still remains elevated when compared to most other countries. Progress towards rebalancing the economy towards increased consumption has been slow and the country is facing a number of challenges, including high and rising corporate debt. Consumer price inflation in China moderated from 2,3 per cent in April 2016 to 1,3 per cent in August, while producer price deflation has eased following higher commodity prices. Real output growth in selected emerging-market economies Percentage change at seasonally adjusted annualised rates 2014 2015 2016 Country/area 3rd qr 4th qr Year 1st qr 2nd qr 3rd qr 4th qr Year 1st qr 2nd qr China........................... India ............................ Indonesia..................... Emerging Asia ............ Russia ......................... Turkey ......................... Poland......................... Emerging Europe........ Brazil ........................... Mexico ........................ Argentina ..................... Latin America ............. Emerging economies.. 7,2 8,3 5,0 7,0 -1,8 1,3 2,4 0,2 0,1 1,8 -3,8 0,9 4,8 7,0 3,3 4,8 5,9 -1,1 5,5 3,2 1,5 1,5 2,6 3,2 1,9 4,4 7,3 7,2 5,0 6,8 0,7 3,0 3,3 1,8 0,1 2,2 -2,6 1,0 4,6 6,7 7,0 4,1 6,3 -10,1 4,3 5,7 -2,9 -3,8 1,7 6,9 -0,2 3,7 7,2 10,4 4,8 7,5 -4,1 5,5 1,6 -0,6 -8,8 3,4 5,7 -1,8 4,6 6,7 7,9 5,2 6,7 0,4 4,1 3,2 2,1 -6,1 2,8 -0,5 -1,2 4,5 6,5 4,8 5,8 5,9 -1,6 4,7 5,3 1,4 -5,0 1,8 -1,5 -1,3 3,9 6,9 7,6 4,8 6,7 -3,7 4,0 3,6 -0,2 -3,8 2,5 2,4 -0,1 4,0 6,5 9,6 3,9 6,9 1,2 2,6 -0,4 1,5 -1,7 2,0 -2,7 -0,7 4,8 7,1 5,5 6,0 6,4 -2,0 1,2 3,6 0,3 -2,2 -0,7 -5,9 -2,5 4,0 Underlined numbers indicate projections. Some regional totals include countries with forecasted data. Sources: Bloomberg, Haver Analytics, JPMorgan, national statistical offices and staff calculations 29 Quarterly Bulletin September 2016
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