Euro zone economy close to stalling as Middle East war takes its toll — Transcript

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1. 0:01Eurozone private sector growth nearly
2. 0:03stalled this month as inflation
3. 0:05expectations surged and delivery times
4. 0:07soared. It adds to growing evidence the
5. 0:10block is already suffering a drag from
6. 0:12the US and Israeli war with Iran. With
7. 0:14oil prices up by 2/3 since the start of
8. 0:17the year and shipping held up in a key
9. 0:19transport corridor, Eurozone inflation
10. 0:22is already rising and economic growth is
11. 0:25set to take a hit as expensive fuel saps
12. 0:27household purchasing power.
13. 0:29The S&P Eurozone purchasing managers
14. 0:32index fell to a 10-month low of 50.5 in
15. 0:35March. It hovered just above the 50 mark
16. 0:38separating growth from contraction. The
17. 0:40index for manufacturing prices jumped to
18. 0:4368.6 from 58. That's as the delivery
19. 0:46times index plunged to 40.9
20. 0:49and suggests firms anticipate massive
21. 0:52delays and a surge in prices. German
22. 0:54figures held up relatively well, but
23. 0:57other major economies took a bigger hit
24. 0:59including France where business
25. 1:01confidence tumbled. Separate data a day
26. 1:04earlier showed consumer confidence in
27. 1:06the block falling to its lowest level
28. 1:08since late 2023.
29. 1:10Trade data released last week showed
30. 1:12sharp falls in European exports at the
31. 1:14start of the year having been buffeted
32. 1:17by President Donald Trump's erratic
33. 1:19tariffs announcements.
34. 1:21Meanwhile, petrol prices have risen by
35. 1:23more than 10% across the EU and diesel
36. 1:26is up over 20% even if the war is ended
37. 1:29relatively soon. These prices are
38. 1:31unlikely to fall quickly as some energy
39. 1:34infrastructure is damaged and fuel
40. 1:36bottlenecks may take several months to
41. 1:38resolve.