€-coin resumes moderate growth in February

After holding steady at just under 0.5% since November, in February the €-coin indicator rose to 0.57%, indicating a strengthening of economic activity in the euro area in the first quarter.

The rise mainly reflects a quickening of industrial activity and foreign trade, flanked by highly positive results of the main business opinion surveys. The rise was limited by a decline in the indicators of demand and by an increase in the differential between long-term and short-term interest rates.