European Views: Back to School with Confidence

Goldman Sachs Research analysts remain confident that growth will pick up in coming quarters. One reason is that surveys show steady improvement, including the PMIs and key national surveys (such as the German Ifo), particularly in manufacturing. Moreover, the forward-looking components of the surveys—including the manufacturing orders/inventory gap and the expectations components—point to a further pickup ahead. The surveys remain at low levels, but the recent dynamics remain encouraging.