The U.S. economy registered negative growth in the January–March quarter of 2014 for the first time in three years, due partly to the unusually severe winter weather. Since then, however, a rebound in a number of economic indicators has been observed, such as a steady improvement in the employment situation.
As for the outlook, the economy is likely to gradually accelerate its pace of recovery, led mainly by private demand, albeit with uncertainties such as the size of slack that remains in the labor market. The euro area economy is recovering moderately, registering positive growth for four consecutive quarters.