Press Release: Commission indicator forecasts euro area quarterly GDP growth of 0.2% to 0.6% for the 1st quarter and 0.3% to 0.7% for the 2nd quarter of 2005

The indicator-based model for quarterly GDP growth for the euro area, developed by the European Commission's Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs, forecast a range of 0.2% to 0.6% for GDP growth in the first quarter of 2005, unchanged compared to the previous release. For the second quarter of 2005 the model predicted quarterly GDP growth of 0.3% to 0.7%, an upward revision of 0.1 of a percentage point compared to the previous release.