Finance & economics | Brace for impact

Europe’s economy looks to be heading for trouble

Will policymakers still lift interest rates?

Containers are pictured in the harbour in Frankfurt, Germany. The European Central Bank is in the background.
Image: AP

Europe’s summer was a strange mixture of heavy rainfall and wildfires. The continent’s economy was also plagued by extremes. Inflation remained hot: prices rose by 5.3% in August compared with a year earlier. And officials are increasingly worried by the cloudy growth outlook. A recent drop in the purchasing managers’ index (pmi) suggests the bloc is facing recession.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Brace for impact”

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