Forecasters Raise Outlook on Eurozone Growth

Forecasters surveyed by the European Central Bank raised their outlook for growth while keeping their inflation predictions unchanged versus the previous quarter, data from the ECB showed Friday.

The report comes a day after the central bank extended its bond-buying program into next year, but at a lower monthly purchase volume.

The ECB's Survey of Professional Forecasters reported stronger growth expectations for the coming years. The surveyors lifted their growth expectations to 2.2% for this year from the 1.9% seen in July. For the coming two years, growth is seen at 1.9% and 1.7% versus the 1.8% and 1.6% expected in July.

"Respondents pointed to the recent better-than-expected releases of hard and soft data, which indicated self-sustaining growth in the euro area," the survey said. "A few respondents noted a more supportive outlook for foreign demand relative to the previous survey, which more than offset the negative impact on exports as a result of the euro's recent appreciation."

Respondents kept their inflation outlook unchanged from the previous round at 1.5%, 1.4% and 1.6% for 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Write to Todd Buell at todd.buell@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 27, 2017 05:36 ET (09:36 GMT)