Euro zone economy rebounds in 2004

Euro zone economy rebounds in 2004

The Euro zone's economy grew 2% in 2004, up sharply from 0.5% in 2003, preliminary data from EU statistics institution Eurostat indicate. At the same time, the European Commission (EC) cut its Euro zone growth forecasts to a range of 0.2-0.6% for both the first and second quarters of 2005. The EC cited the Euro's appreciation against the US Dollar as the main reason behind the revision. The European Central Bank projects growth of about 1.8% for the whole of 2005 as previously reported by SteelOrbis.