FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone economic growth could be weaker in the months ahead but the recovery should still pick up some pace further out, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said in a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday.
“Survey-based data suggest that growth will be weaker in the short term, on the back of slowing growth in the services sector and a continued contraction in manufacturing,” Lagarde told the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs in Brussels.
“Further ahead, the euro area’s economic recovery should start to gather some steam,” she said. “Consumer spending is expected to pick up as real incomes rise, and investment is expected to recover.”