Following some moderate expansion in recent quarters, growth of the euro area real GDP came to a halt in the second quarter of this year. The early information on economic conditions which we received over the summer has been somewhat weaker than expected.
While industrial production and manufacturing orders in July gave some reason for optimism, more recent survey indicators have given no indication that the sharp decline registered in August has stopped. Looking ahead, we continue to expect euro area domestic demand to be supported by various factors. These include our accommodative monetary policy stance, favourable financing conditions, and structural reforms sustaining private consumption and investment.