Economic growth experienced several short-lived boom-bust wild swings in 2020, amplified by trade openness and the severity of the second wave of Covid-19 in the fall. However, the recovery in the 3rd quarter proved strong. Industrial production and exports both performed well, boosted by a stable exchange rate (and substantial foreign currency reserves). In addition, thanks to very modest debt levels, the government was able to offer rapid and substantial support to the economy.
In force since 30 October 2019, tiering seeks to limit the cost of negative interest rates (-0.5%) for eurozone banks by excluding part of excess reserves from the charge[1]. This approach saved eurozone banks a charge of EUR 4.3 billion in December 2020, leaving a residual charge of EUR 9.8 billion. The cost of negative interest rates has nevertheless grown steadily since April 2020, and particularly in the second quarter of 2020, due to sharp increases in excess reserves. These increases result in part from the expansion of outstanding Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTRO III), the terms of which were temporarily relaxed (from June 2020 to June 2021) in response to the Covid-19 pandemic
The United Kingdom has since 1 January fully exited the European Union, and a free-trade agreement has been found, as has been customary with Brexit, at the last minute. While that is good news for the British and European economies, Brexit is still “hard” and will surely trigger substantial economic losses in the long term.
The resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic halted the Eurozone’s economic recovery. It looks like year-end 2020 will be harder than expected due to new social distancing measures and lockdown restrictions set up in most of the member states. Industrial output remains low compared to pre-crisis levels and companies in the tradeable services sector continue to be at the forefront of restrictions. As to the first half of 2021, uncertainty is still high. Faced with this environment, the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to announce new monetary stimulus measures following its 10 December meeting as fiscal support measures are gradually reduced.
The second lockdown interrupted an already stalling recovery. However, the business climate is likely to improve soon on the expectation that several vaccines might soon be available. Inflation is currently in negative territory because of the VAT cut, but will soon turn positive again once the measure expires on 1 January 2021. Because of the second lockdown, the 2021 budget will show a larger deficit than assumed in September, EUR180 bn or 5.2% of GDP. In Q2, the household savings rate rose to 20.1%, a new historical high. Once the pandemic is over, the savings rate could drop considerably if consumers catch up on postponed purchases.
The huge recessionary shock in H1 was followed by an equally spectacular rebound of economic activity in Q3, with an 18.7% jump in real GDP, although it will remain short-lived. The recovery has turned out to be W-shaped: GDP is expected to fall again in Q4 because of lockdown measures reintroduced on 30 October to tackle the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic. However, the second V should be less pronounced than the first: the decline should be smaller because the lockdown measures are less stringent, and the rebound should also be smaller because restrictions will remain in place and the economy is weakened. There is still a long way to go, but the arrival of vaccines means that there is light at the end of the tunnel
Following an impressive decline in the first half of 2020, the Italian economy rebounded over the summer. Value added rose strongly in construction and manufacturing, while the recovery in the services sector was less substantial. Favourable indications also come from house prices invalidating the darkest scenario depicted at the beginning of the pandemic. To contain the second wave of infections, the Italian Government has taken restrictive measures, with negative effects on activity. The economy is expected to decline in Q4 again. This contraction should be less significant than in the first half of the year, with only a moderate impact on 2020 growth, while the carry- over in 2021 should be more sizeable.
Forecasts made at the start of the year will probably turn out to be accurate. Spain is set to be the Eurozone’s economy hardest hit by the Covid-19 epidemic. We forecast GDP to shrink by 11.8% in 2020 before rebounding by 7.0% in 2021. The social situation has worsened again this year, forcing the government to introduce new large-scale welfare benefits (e.g. minimum living income), which will be reinforced in 2021. Spain’s huge €140 billion stimulus plan will support the recovery, should raise the country’s potential growth and create jobs. But the structural budget deficit is widening
We expect the Belgian economy to lose 7.2% of its size this year, followed by a 3.8% increase next year. After a strong recovery in the third quarter, private consumption is expected to decline again at the end of this year, but not as much as during the first lockdown. So far, structural damages seem to have been mainly avoided, with bankruptcies close to their normal level and unemployment rates stable since the beginning of the year. Government support measures have no doubt played a crucial role in this but once these measures are discontinued, some long term scarring will take place.
The government decreed a second lockdown in November due to the rapid rise in Covid-19 infections. Business indicators point to a fall in activity. Thanks to the short-time work scheme, unemployment has only risen moderately. Moreover, inflation has remained at a relative high level compared to other eurozone countries. In 2021, fiscal policy remains very accommodative and the deficit might only shrink to 6.3% of GDP. The economy is projected to rebound by 3.5% in 2021 compared with a slump in 2020 (-7.5%). A major downside risk is the increased indebtedness of the non-financial corporate sector.
In Q2 2020, Finland stood out from the rest of Europe as the country that reported the smallest decline in GDP – “only” –4.4%. Yet the ensuing recovery was less vigorous than for its EU neighbours, and Finland will surely continue to underperform in the months ahead. Even so, the Finnish economy is still one of the most resilient in Europe, thanks notably to the relatively feeble spread of the virus and robust support from the fiscal and monetary authorities.
Greece’s economic recovery will be fraught with uncertainty in 2021. The Covid-19 hit to activity could last longer in the tourism industry – a key sector for the country – than in other sectors. The decline in tourist inflows in summer 2020 has limited significantly the rebound in Q3 GDP, which was much weaker than in other European countries. Some confidence indicators, particularly regarding the unemployment outlook, have worsened during the autumn. The conservative government plans to use the large amounts of money allocated by the European recovery fund to finance its stimulus plan, details of which will be finalised early next year. Despite that, public debt is likely to remain above 200% of GDP by the end of 2021, which is very worrying from a long-run perspective.
The record fall in UK GDP in the second quarter gave way to unprecedented growth in the third, and the news that an effective vaccine against Covid-19 will soon be widely available suggests that the economy could start its definitive recovery in 2021. However, the UK is not out of the woods yet. Given that a second national lockdown was introduced in England in November, there is little doubt that economic activity will drop again in the fourth quarter. Moreover, the strength of the recovery is, because of Brexit, more uncertain than elsewhere. This not only because of the UK’s decision to leave the EU’s single market and customs union, but also due to continued uncertainty over whether a free-trade agreement will be found.
Since March 2020, Sweden has adopted a more relaxed approach to the COVID19 outbreak as no lockdown has been imposed to the population. However, the recent pick up in new infections could slow the recovery down in Q4 2020. Pervasive uncertainty will continue to hamper exports and corporate investment, while household consumption is fuelling the economic recovery. In 2021, the Riksbank will maintain and expand its vast asset purchasing programme. New expansionist measures are expected to bolster an already accommodating fiscal policy.
The Danish economy has quickly rebounded after the reopening of the borders but a complete catch-up will take time since the resurgence of the Coronavirus epidemic keeps the country’s economic situation uncertain. Services exports were hard hit by the crisis in 2020, but are offset by a surge in Danish household consumption, supported by government measures. Fiscal policy should remain accommodative in 2021 and the Central Bank of Denmark will continue to defend its peg with the euro.
The latest Google Mobility Report - published on 6 December – shows that customer traffic flows to retail and leisure businesses in Europe early this month continued to build on the momentum reported end November. This momentum is the result of the easing of containment measures in Europe...
Due to the lengthening of the health crisis, the European Banking Authority decided on 2 December 2020 to reactivate its guidelines on legislative and non-legislative moratoria on loan repayments. This decision aims at easing credit instructions criteria for granting moratoria. Moratoria granted in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic before 31 March 2021 will not automatically be considered as a forbearance measure. However, such moratoria must have benefitted a sufficiently large set of borrowers and their granting must have been based on a criterion other than solvency. The beneficiaries of moratoria that aim at preventing a default will no longer automatically be considered in default
The resurging pandemic and tighter sanitary restrictions in many Eurozone countries pose a new threat to the economic recovery after the first wave of virus was generally brought under control. The latest economic indicators for the Eurozone suggest that economic momentum is slowing. However, there has not been a collapse like the one observed in late March and April...
The Pulse for Germany offers an interesting picture this week. In general, the economic situation has clearly improved in the period September-November compared to the preceding three-month period. This is most obvious in the manufacturing and construction sectors...
Although the economic impact of the November lockdown will certainly not be as harmful as the one last spring, there is still some uncertainty over the size of the Q4 2020 GDP contraction. The INSEE and the Bank of France both estimate that the economy was operating at 96% of normal levels in October, before falling back to 88% in November...
Although the second wave of the epidemic appears to have peaked in mid-November, the economic outlook, particularly for the labour market, is worrying in Greece as it is in other countries. The consumer unemployment expectations index, published by the European Commission, is deteriorating again, and posted in November its worst reading since August 2013. The hard unemployment data from the Greek statistical service are traditionally lagging: the latest data are for August. Despite managing relatively well the epidemic, the Greek economy has taken a sizeable hit due to the steep decline in tourism, a slowdown that could extend beyond the epidemic phase and hold back the recovery in 2021
Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal have been hit hard economically by the Covid-19 epidemic. These countries have also suffered for many years from sluggish potential growth, which is among the lowest in Europe. The main obstacles are more or less the same: a low level of investment and productivity, and a slowing - or even declining - demographics which weigh on the workforce. How have these different factors evolved? What may be the impact of the current economic crisis on structural growth? Which levers to operate?
With only a few weeks left before the end of the transition period that has extended the United Kingdom’s de facto membership of the European Union, considerable uncertainty remains about Brexit and its consequences. Whatever the outcome of the current negotiations on a free trade agreement, it is clear that this will be a hard Brexit. From this observation, a number of important questions emerge. What will be the consequences of the UK’s withdrawal from both the EU’s single market and customs union? What effect will Brexit have on the UK economy, and will it differ across sectors? How will Brexit influence future economic policy in the UK?
According to the first estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), United Kingdom GDP rose by 15.5% in the third quarter, in line with consensus estimates, as restriction measures were progressively lifted following the first lockdown. Despite this record increase, the level of GDP was still nearly 10% below where it was at the end of 2019. While Spain is in a similar position, the GDPs of the United States, France, Germany and Italy have all returned to about 5% below where they were back then...
The marked improvement in the barometer shows that the rebound in economic activity was encouraging up to mid-October, before the epidemic picked up speed again. As in other countries, the pick-up in activity was concentrated in the industrial sector. The manufacturing PMI reached 53.8 in October (its highest level since March 2018), driven by a marked improvement in the new export orders component (+4.5 points to 55.8). Conversely, the services sector PMI fell by 2.1 points to 46.7...
