Economic outlook for the West European countries, like Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, is expected to remain downbeat throughout 2019 due to weak business sentiment arising out of Brexit issues and slow global economic recovery. Domestic demand and consumer sentiments supported by low inflation and strong labor markets are helping to stabilize growth. German economic growth, which marginally avoided a technical recession in Q4 2018, is expected to remain restrained by the trade war between the United States and China. Growth in the United Kingdom is likely to be pressed by Brexit issues, the implementation of which is getting delayed until end of April 2019. If a no-deal scenario unfolds, growth is likely to slip to a near-zero situation in 2019.In Italy, weakening domestic demand and political uncertainty will hurt 2019 growth, with the new government clashing with the EU over the 2019 budget. In France, growth should marginally rise in 2019 amidst low interest rates, expected minimum wage hikes and tax cuts; however, weaker external demand is likely to weigh upon the growth.

Country Coverage: Western Europe
·     Belgium
·     France
·     Germany
·     Italy
·     Spain
·     The Netherlands
·     The United Kingdom

Sector Coverage: economic indicators, demographics, energy, manufacturing, food and beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, mining, electricity, construction, agriculture, healthcare, and information and communication technologies

Indicator coverage: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its components, GDP growth, export and import, foreign direct investment, inflation, business confidence, population and demographics, index of industrial production (IIP), value-add by industry, trade by industry, IIP by industry, production of important commodities, oil production and consumption, oil export and import, renewable energy, emissions, coal production and consumption, healthcare spending, Internet and mobile subscription, and regional GDP growth calculation

Year, Quarter, and Month Coverage:
·     Yearly data: 2015–2023
·     Quarterly data: Q1 2015–Q4 2020 (select indicators)
·     Monthly data: January 2015–March 2019 (select indicators)

Author: Rituparna Majumder