REPEAT: MNI: ECB Expects "Unabated" Econ Growth Beyond Q4

Repeats Story Initially Transmitted at 09:00 GMT Dec 21/04:00 EST Dec 21

By Christian Vits

     FRANKFURT (MNI) - The European Central Bank is confident that the current

solid growth momentum in the currency bloc will hold beyond the turn of the

year.

     "The Economic Sentiment Indicator suggests that there will be a continued,

unabated increase in real GDP across the euro area over the near term, with most

countries experiencing this trend," the ECB said in its latest Economic

Bulletin, published Thursday.

     "However, financial services are not included in the ESI. This is a

shortcoming because the financial sector affects real GDP and developments in

this sector can be very different to those in the rest of the economy, as seen

during the financial crisis," the report said.

     From the viewpoint of the more hawkish ECB Council members, the robust

recovery, with 18 consecutive quarters of economic growth, suggests bringing

further expansion of the central bank's balance sheet to an end.

     At the sectoral level, the November confidence indicators underlying the

ESI were at a record high for manufacturing and close to an all-time high for

the consumer sector, retail trade and construction, according to the ECB.

     "The latter sector, in particular, displayed a remarkable cyclical

upswing," the bank said.

--MNI Frankfurt Bureau; +49 69 97782671; email: christian.vits@marketnews.com