Euro area growth may gain further strength

Last week, the European Commission raised it forecast of economic growth for the euro area in 2017 to 2.2 percent from 1.7 percent in May. That would make it the fastest growth rate in a decade.

Now, private sector economists are adding to the optimism.

“This is euro-area growth at its best,” said Nathan Sheets, a former international economist at the Federal Reserve and US Treasury.

“There’s good cause to think euro-area growth can gather further strength in 2018,” said economists at Credit Suisse.

“Absent an unexpected shock, we should see several more years of economic growth,” said Angel Talavera, an economist at Oxford Economics.