Euro area: solid growth in Q2; inflation edges higher in July

The euro area economy expanded by 2% qoq in the second quarter after a small contraction at the beginning of the year (-0.3%). We expect the economy to grow robust ly in the coming quarters , but to reach its pre-pandemic level only early next year. Headline inflation for July rose to 2.2%yoy after 1.9%, while core inflation eased to 0.7%. Thus, there is no sign that the underlying inflationary pressure is gaining any momentum in the euro area.