Growth in eurozone revised up

Pressure on the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to extend its €1.1trn (£800bn) money-printing programme eased slightly after faster growth in the eurozone.

A stronger showing from Italy and Greece prompted Eurostat to lift its estimates in the April-June quarter from 0.3 per cent to 0.4 per cent. Growth in the first three months of the year was also revised up from 0.4 per cent to 0.5 per cent.

Teunis Brosens, an economist at ING, said: “With [the] upward revisions... a 1.5 per cent growth rate for 2015 comes back within reach.”

He added, however, that the eurozone still faced dangers.