Don't give up in to defeatism


  • Greek elections
  • Inflation in negative territory
  • ECB ready to act
While the US economy has accelerated before the end of the year, the eurozone did not get off to a good start in 2015. The financial markets are mainly preoccupied by Greece and the prospect of early elections there at the end of January. If the polls are to be believed, Syriza could win these elections and lead the next coalition government. This is a party that is seeking the end of austerity measures and a fresh restructuring of Greek public debt. However, as we stress, the economic interests of both Greece and its creditors argue for compromise. Mediocre economic figures do little to deflect attention from political uncertainties. Industrial production fell in November 2014 in several of the eurozone's major economies, not just France, due to lower energy production. In addition, confidence surveys published this week (PMI, European Commission) suggested that the economy remained weak at the end of last year. Lastly, in December inflation slipped into negative territory (-0.2%) for the first time since 2009. Driven largely by the fall in energy prices, this phenomenon is, for the time being, neither widespread nor selfsustaining, two features of true deflation. But the risk is definitely there and the ECB is readying itself to act.

Recommended Content


Recommended Content

Editors’ Picks

USD/JPY pops and drops on BoJ's expected hold

USD/JPY pops and drops on BoJ's expected hold

USD/JPY reverses a knee-jerk spike to 142.80 and returns to the red below 142.50 after the Bank of Japan announced on Friday that it maintained the short-term rate target in the range of 0.15%-0.25%, as widely expected. Governor Ueda's press conference is next in focus.  

USD/JPY News
AUD/USD bears attack 0.6800 amid PBOC's status-quo, cautious mood

AUD/USD bears attack 0.6800 amid PBOC's status-quo, cautious mood

AUD/USD attacks 0.6800 in Friday's Asian trading, extending its gradual retreat after the PBOC unexpectedly left mortgage lending rates unchanged in September. A cautious market mood also adds to the weight on the Aussie. Fedspeak eyed. 

AUD/USD News
Gold consolidates near record high, bullish potential seems intact

Gold consolidates near record high, bullish potential seems intact

Gold price regained positive traction on Thursday and rallied back closer to the all-time peak touched the previous day in reaction to the Federal Reserve's decision to start the policy easing cycle with an oversized rate cut.

Gold News
Ethereum rallies over 6% following decision to split Pectra upgrade into two phases

Ethereum rallies over 6% following decision to split Pectra upgrade into two phases

In its Consensus Layer Call on Thursday, Ethereum developers decided to split the upcoming Pectra upgrade into two batches. The decision follows concerns about potential risks in shipping the previously approved series of Ethereum improvement proposals.

Read more
Bank of Japan set to keep rates on hold after July’s hike shocked markets

Bank of Japan set to keep rates on hold after July’s hike shocked markets

The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its short-term interest rate target between 0.15% and 0.25% on Friday, following the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy review. The decision is set to be announced during the early Asian session. 

Read more
Moneta Markets review 2024: All you need to know

Moneta Markets review 2024: All you need to know

VERIFIED In this review, the FXStreet team provides an independent and thorough analysis based on direct testing and real experiences with Moneta Markets – an excellent broker for novice to intermediate forex traders who want to broaden their knowledge base.

Read More

Majors

Cryptocurrencies

Signatures