Europe's Growth Engine Is Running Out of Steam: Chart

(Bloomberg) -- Germany won’t grow so fast this year -- early indicators are pointing to weaker demand in Europe’s biggest economy and it’s getting harder to find staff. How hot is the economy running: Both the PMI and European Commission capacity utilization gauges are in elevated territory, and there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest the pinch of bottlenecks is being felt. Bloomberg Economics’ own estimate of overheating -- the output gap -- says the economy is running warm, though the weakness of pay growth means it’s not as hot as the business surveys suggest.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jamie Murray (Economist) in London at jmurray126@bloomberg.net, David Powell (Economist) in London at dpowell24@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sheldon Reback at sreback@bloomberg.net, Zoe Schneeweiss

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.