Great Recession in Europe

According to the European statistical office Eurostat, housing prices, measured by the House Price Index, increased by 0.2 % in the EU during the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of the previous year. However, in the euro area, they decreased by 1.1 %. This marks a continuation of the trend observed in the third quarter, where prices fell by 1.1 %and 2.2 %, respectively.

The inflation that has squeezed European shoppers fell more than expected in March to 2.4 percent, as cost spikes in the grocery aisle eased and overall price rises headed down in the two biggest economies, Germany and France.

Credit growth rates are expected to stabilize following the policy rate decision taken in March and the macroprudential measures, according to the Central Bank.

Total loan growth has accelerated since the bank's rate-setting meeting in February, the bank said in the summary of the March Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, released on March 28.

The economic confidence index increased by 1 percent monthly to touch the 100-mark in March, data from the Turkish Statistics (TÜİK) have shown.

Any figure above the 100-mark points to optimism regarding the general economic situation.

The gauge of economic confidence was down 0.4 percent month-on-month in February.

Industrial production increased by 1.1 percent in January from a year ago, according to the numbers of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

Mining and quarrying production rose by 4.9 percent, while the annual increase in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply was 8.4 percent, TÜİK said on March 12.

Recent data from Eurostat reveals a slight uptick in retail sales across the Eurozone and the European Union in January 2024, marking a recovery from the previous month's decline.

Greece saw the second-highest increase in the price of olive oil since January 2023, with its 67 percent increase far above the European Union average of 50 percent, data from the EU's statistics arm showed on Tuesday.

Preliminary figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that the British economy has officially entered a recession in the latter half of 2023. The grim data indicates a contraction in GDP for two consecutive quarters, marking what economists term as a "technical recession."

Greece attracted record demand on Tuesday for its first new bond since regaining investment grade.

It raised 4 billion euros from the 10-year bond with investor orders exceeding 35 billion euros.

Greece plans to raise up to €10 billion from debt markets via short- and long-term bond issues next year, its debt agency PDMA said on Friday.

Outlining its 2024 strategy, PDMA said Greece plans to repay ahead of schedule more bailout loans and reduce the amount of T-bills in circulation.