Euro-zone’s strong start won’t be sustained

Q1’s surprisingly strong gain in euro-zone GDP provided a solid start to the year. But we suspect that the figures overstate the economy’s underlying pace of expansion and there is a clear risk of a further slowdown ahead. Accordingly, we are not minded to alter our view that the euro-zone economy will disappoint expectations in 2016 as a whole.

Meanwhile, negotiations between Greece and its creditors came up against further obstacles last week that have made the situation feel increasingly like a replay of the events that almost led Greece to exit the euro-zone this time last year.