So, apparently, "strong eurozone growth" for 2Q 2015 is fuelling hopes for economic recovery and pushing markets up. Which makes for some funny reading, considering the following:
1) Eurozone GDP grew by a mind-blowing… 0.4% in 2Q 2015 in q/q terms. Which, hold your breath there, matey… was a decline on 0.52% (revised) growth in 1Q 2015.
2) It gets better, yet: growth 'improvement' was down to a rise in exports due to devalued euro (err.. now, who would have thought that to be a reason to cheer?). Exports increase accounted for 0.3% of the total 0.4% of 2Q growth. Full details are here.
The glorious achievement of the Great Patriotic Eurozone Economy under the wise stewardship of [insert a name of a Brussels Directorate or one of the EU Presidents here] was so blindingly obvious that one can't miss it using a mapping of historical past growth rates.
Yes, yes… that is right - the "strong" rate of eurozone growth in 2Q 2015 was exactly the same as that attained in Q4 2014 and identical to Q3 2010 (remember, that was 'blistering' too). 1Q 1999 - 1Q 2008 average quarterly growth rate in the eurozone was 0.56% and that was the period when the euro area was actually showing structural weaknesses compared to other advanced economies. Over the period of 12 months through 2Q 2015, average growth is 0.4% and we call this… err… "strong".
That poverty of low expectations…
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