Weak Eurozone Data Point To Cracks In Recovery As Inflation Lingers  

• The eurozone's economic recovery is tentative and fragile, several indicators suggested on Monday, adding to signs that even if a recession may have been avoided, no upturn is in sight. Some economic readings have been better than feared, particularly through the winter, but Monday's retail trade data, a key sentiment indicator, tempered any nascent optimism.
• Eurozone retail sales, a good proxy for consumer demand, rebounded much less than expected in January, challenging other data, including PMI surveys, which pointed to a steady recovery. Retail sales rose 0.3% on the month, below the 1% rise forecast by economists, and were down 2.3% year on year. That suggests "a weak start to the year for the consumer amid stubbornly high prices," ING economist Bert Colijn said.
• Data last week showed that inflation in Germany, France and Spain - three of the bloc's top four economies - unexpectedly rose in February.
• The European Central Bank is hiking rates at the fastest pace on record, and its chief economist Philip Lane said on Monday that the bank is still likely to keep raising them after a 50 basis point increase this month.
• "The current information on underlying inflation pressures suggests that it will be appropriate to raise rates further beyond our March meeting," Lane said in a speech in Dublin, confirming market expectations for more moves through the spring and possibly the summer.

(Source: Reuters)