PARIS: Growth paths in top eurozone economies Germany and France are headed in different directions, central bank data showed Friday, raising the prospect of tension between the two powerhouses.
France’s central bank Friday trimmed its growth forecasts for 2016 to 2018 citing a worsening of the global economy and Brexit, while Germany’s Bundesbank lifted its outlook. The diverging projections in the eurozone’s two top economies came a day after the European Central Bank extended measures to underpin the bloc’s economy as it grapples with political uncertainties.
Germany and neighbouring France both hold crunch elections in 2017. The EU must also negotiate with Britain on its looming exit, as well as navigate Italy’s future after the resignation of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Revising its GDP growth forecasts down, the Bank of France said in a statement that it was “mainly due to the deterioration in the international environment”.
