The ECB may only hike rock-bottom interest rates as late as mid-2019, Irish economists have predicted. Eurozone inflation figures published yesterday showed inflation across the bloc remains low.

Irish elections will soon loom large for investors as political uncertainty yesterday helped send the borrowing costs of Portugal and Spain significantly higher.

German inflation slowed to its lowest level in over five years in December, raising pressure on European Central Bank president Mario Draghi to unveil unconventional measures later this month to ward off a deflationary spiral in the eurozone.

German analyst and investor sentiment rose in November for the first time in almost a year, surpassing expectations and raising hopes of an improvement in Europe’s biggest economy after it dodged recession in the third quarter.

Inflation remains stubbornly low in several eurozone states, according to data released yesterday which keeps pressure on the ECB to unveil new steps to stoke the moribund economy.

In May, as the eurozone veered deeper into crisis, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman penned one of his gloomiest columns in the New York Times entitled “Apocalypse Fairly Soon”.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates to a record low yesterday to breathe life into a deteriorating eurozone economy but steered clear of more dramatic measures, such as buying government bonds or flooding banks with fresh liquidity.

Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro hit its highest level since the currency was introduced back in 1999 official figures showed yesterday, adding to fears that the region is back in recession.

Unemployment in the 17 countries using the euro has hit its highest since the currency was introduced in 1999, adding to fears the region is back in recession.

EUROPEAN confidence in the economic outlook fell more than economists forecast in November as the 17-nation eurozone edged closer to a recession and the fiscal crisis started to hit larger countries.

COMMERCIAL borrowers and the country’s 777,321 residential mortgage holders could be in line for significant savings, as economists across Europe predict and recommend that the European Central Bank cuts interest rates by a third.

AS the EU is left to confront the possibility of the break-up of the single currency, Dutch bank ING recently presented a chilling account of what the fallout might be for the 16 member states who signed up for the euro, now in its 11th year.

EUROZONE economic sentiment rose unexpectedly this month and consumer inflation expectations eased, data showed yesterday, pointing to continued economic recovery.