ECB’s ‘Temporary Slowdown’ Narrative Approaches One-Year Mark

Jens Weidmann is the latest European Central Bank official to make the case that the slowdown in the euro-area economy and its members is temporary. That narrative is starting to age.

Nearly a year ago, economists across the region started puzzling over a range culprits that were weighing on economic data, from cold winter weather to flu-related absences hampering output. ECB President Mario Draghi first referenced the impact of such one-offs last April, and since then a number of challenges have compounded to make the institution’s economic analysis even more difficult.