February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
An AIB review predicts bad times for the Irish economy — there is a risk that next month it will slow by more than expected, said AIB Group Treasury.
The eurozone economy expanded by more than 3.4 percent last year.
Future data will indicate a sharp slowdown, the analysis suggests.
Last year’s expansion in Ireland was 9.5 percent.
The AIB report said: “We must admit that the balance of risk to our forecasts is on the downside, particularly in relation to exports and consumer spending.”
Exporters’ expectations have fallen sharply, while car sales are down 24 percent.
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However, given that it is still early in the year, we are reluctant to project a greater deceleration in the pace of activity,” the AIB’s economists said.
A slowdown next year is not expected to be below U.S. growth, predicted to fall to a paltry 2 percent or less.