Eurozone GDP growth may exceed the pre-pandemic level by the end of 2021

A meeting of the Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) was held today, following which it was decided to keep the base rate unchanged at 0%. The head of the European regulator, Christine Lagarde, noted during a subsequent press conference that the growth of the eurozone economy could exceed the level observed before the coronavirus pandemic by the end of this year.

«The rebound phase in the recovery of the eurozone economy is increasingly intensifying,» Lagarde said. Moreover, about 70% of adult Europeans were fully vaccinated, which helped to open up the economy as a whole and allowed consumers to increase spending, and companies to increase production.

At the same time, the ECB president noted that there are risks that a new strain of the «delta» coronavirus may slow down the full opening of the eurozone economy, despite the growth of general immunity to Covid. Lagarde called the current acceleration of inflation temporary and assured that price pressure will increase at a moderate pace.