The IMF released it Regional Economic Outlook for Europe on May 12th. Some of the key takeaways from this release are:
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Source: IMF
- Europe’s current deep recession: there is a risk that it could worsen further
- Western Europe is projected to see their economies shrink by 4.0% in 2009
- Output in Emerging European countries would fall by 4.9% in 2009
- Modest decline for Western Europe and modest recovery for Emerging Europe in 2010
- Demand for goods fell sharply in 4Q, 2008 leading to 26% annual rate decline in trade
- Domestic real estate crash has severely affected the Baltic economies, Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom
- Large public debt and current account deficits have been the cause of collapse for some countries such as Hungary and Greece
