According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2018-2019/Q1 2018 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), the EU economy remained on a favorable growth track in the second half of last year. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the EU was driven by robust investment, solid private consumption and strong exports. The GDP breakdown by country shows that the growth pattern across EU member states has become even more synchronized over the past few quarters. The current estimate for EU-28 GDP growth in 2017 is 2.4 percent.
EUROFER stated that conditions look right for the EU economy, maintaining an above-trend growth rate in 2018. Investment is expected to remain a key driver of growth, reflecting robust domestic and external demand. The supply-demand balance is forecast to shift into the favor of producers and will have a positive impact on selling prices and margins.
Meanwhile, the EU economy is foreseen to return to a more sustainable growth rate in 2019 as EU monetary policy tightening may start to dampen investment growth and the boost of pent-up demand for capital goods may lose some strength.
On balance, EUROFER’s Q1 2018 outlook forecasts EU GDP growth at 2.2 percent in 2018 and at 1.9 percent in 2019.