Consumers yet to spend their oil windfall...

GDP growth was faster in the euro-zone than in the US in Q1, but we don’t expect this to be the start of a new trend. The single currency area has received a temporary boost from the fall in the euro as well as from lower oil prices. In the US, however, households seem to have been inhibited from spending their oil windfall by the extreme winter weather while the appreciation of the dollar has hampered industrial production. Looking ahead, US economic activity should re-accelerate but we think the recovery in the euro-zone will struggle to gain much more momentum.