Oil price and currency declines benefitting European economy

Economic data in the euro area continue to provide evidence of accelerating growth supported by strong data on private consumption and retail sales. 

"We estimate that economic activity in the EA expanded by 0.5% q/q in Q1 15, the strongest quarterly growth since Q1 11." - said Barclays in a report

Business confidence has continued to improve across the board. March composite PMI data were again above 50 for all the big-four EA countries. Confidence improved and surprised to the upside in Germany and Italy, while Spanish confidence strengthened in both manufacturing and services sectors. 

"Overall we estimate that these PMI prints are broadly consistent with our GDP forecast and possibly signal some upside risks." - Barclays adds