Eurozone economic growth to accelerate mildly: think tanks

Economic growth in the eurozone is expected to accelerate mildly, but remain weak, three think tanks said Monday in a joint forecast report.

The growth rate will be 0.3 percent in the first and second quarter of 2015 respectively, following 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the latest forecast by Munich-based Ifo institute, the French Insee institute, and the Italian Istat institute.

In addition, the three institutes expect that investment will recover in 2015, and there will be robust growth for Germany and Spain, moderate expansion in France and weak development in Italy.

The expansion will primarily be due to internal economic factors, the quarterly publicized report analyzed, adding that the recovery in the labor market is expected to be very gradual, while private consumption will be sustained only by feeble wage dynamics and very low inflation.

However, there are also numerous risks to this scenario, such as the outcome of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Greece and its possible implications for the stability of the eurozone, according to the report. Endit