Economists boost eurozone outlook, see best year in a decade

New York - The eurozone economy just got another upgrade, with economists seeing the fastest expansion since before the financial crisis.

In the latest survey by Bloomberg News, gross domestic product is forecast to increase 2.1% this year, up 0.1 percentage point compared with the August survey.

The revision - the eighth positive reassessment over the past year - comes just over a week since the European Central Bank also issued its own more optimistic assessment, with a forecast of 2.2%.

Expansion in the 19-nation economy last hit 2.1% in 2010, though it’s not been stronger since 2007. The pace of growth may slow to 1.8% next year - though that’s still better than the August prediction - and 1.5% in 2019. That would be the weakest pace since 2014.

While economists have regularly upgraded their 2017 outlook for economic growth, they’ve been less optimistic regarding inflation, and that remained the case this month.

Looking ahead, consumer prices are seen rising just 1.1% in early 2018, before rebounding to 1.6% by year’s end and then averaging 1.7% in 2019.

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