The pool of extra household savings is not evenly spread across the population, being concentrated in households with higher incomes. It is not clear whether households will want to spend these savings in coming months or whether they see them as long-term wealth to be spent gradually over a long period of time.
Overall, labour market conditions remain weak. Recent developments in short-term indicators, notably survey data,  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  indicate that weak economic sentiment has extended into spring of this year. Looking ahead, euro area export growth should benefit from a recovery in global demand and our monetary policy stance should contribute to support domestic demand.