Eurozone’s growth laggard has cheery consumers

A pedestrian is seen crossing a street near the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on July 18, 2024, ahead of an ECB press conference on the Eurozone's monetary policy. European Central Bank policymakers are expected to leave borrowing costs on hold on July 18, buying time to make sure inflation is on the right track before cutting interest rates again. The ECB's governing council reduced interest rates for the first time in five years at last month's meeting, following an aggressive cycle of monetary tightening to tame red-hot inflation. The June cut lowered the key deposit rate from a record four percent to 3.75 percent, bringing some relief to households and businesses. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

Berlin: Some of the eurozone’s most upbeat consumers can be found in one of the region’s most sickly economies – Germany.

That mismatch was on display last Tuesday when the country was revealed as the only big member of the currency area to have suffered falling output during the second quarter.