The European Union statistics office has left its forecasts for growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2002 unchanged Eurostat said it left its forecasts for GDP growth at a range of 0.2-0.5pc The office made the statement after announcing that the 12-nation eurozone expanded at a rate of 0.4pc in the second quarter from the first and was up 0.7pc on a year-on-year basis. The final second quarter reading was in line with economists' expectations.
In the EU as a whole, GDP rose by 0.4pc sequentially and 0.7pc year-on-yea Policymakers at the European Central Bank are meeting today to decide whether or not to lower interest rates, aware of the fact that their decision will impact on a region where growth this year will range from 0.50pc in Germany to as high as 4pc in Ireland //www.fxcentre.com