Quarterly euro-area GDP growth projections suggest
steady expansion of GDP for the next three quarters.

The dynamic factor model for quarterly GDP growth in the euro area, developed by the
European Commission's Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs,
projects GDP growth in the range of 0.5% to 0.9% for the third quarter of 2006 and
0.4% to 0.9% for the fourth quarter. Compared to the previous release (12 July), the
projected growth range is higher for the third quarter and slightly lower for the fourth
quarter. The projected range for GDP growth in the first quarter of 2007 is 0.2% to
0.8%.