, Columnist
The ECB Is in For a Coronavirus Shocker
It's time for euro-area policy makers to take the threat of the new coronavirus seriously in spite of encouraging economic signs in February.
Will the ECB be able to stare down the impact of the new coronavirus?
Photographer: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
It was the calm before the storm.
Last week, new data showed that the euro-zone economy had seen an encouraging rebound in February, as activity in the services sector expanded strongly, while manufacturing slowed less than expected. However, the disruptions from the new coronavirus epidemic look set to hit the region’s businesses hard, especially as the number of cases outside of China grows. The European Central Bank and euro region finance ministers have seemed oddly sanguine in recent weeks, but that’s likely to change soon.