Central banks

Historically, stronger dynamics in services prices than in non-energy industrial goods (NEIG) prices have led to a persistent positive gap between services and NEIG inflation rates. However, the relative price of goods versus services rose rapidly in 2021-2022 before subsequently falling back.

This box examines euro area credit conditions from the perspective of banks and firms. The analysis uses data from the bank lending survey and the survey on the access to finance of enterprises. By offering qualitative insights into credit supply and demand, these surveys complement hard data in analysing how monetary policy is transmitted to firms through banks. The respective survey findings confirm that the general economic outlook and firm-specific conditions are significant factors affecting credit standards and the availability of bank loans.

This box explores the use of corporate earnings calls as a novel, high-frequency source of data for nowcasting and forecasting labour demand in the euro area. Labour demand has started to show signs of cooling following its post-pandemic peak. By applying textual analysis to transcripts of earnings calls, we construct an indicator that correlates strongly with the euro area job vacancy rate. This metric enables us to produce timely forecasts ahead of official data releases. Utilising a mixed data sampling (MIDAS) regression approach, we use this indicator to forecast the job vacancy rate.

This box compares euro area export performance in high-tech sectors with that of China and the United States. While the euro area has maintained market share in several fast-growing high-tech sectors, it has underperformed in large medium-high-tech sectors. The latter, by virtue of their size, drive overall export growth and account for most of the euro area’s losses and China’s gains in export market shares.