Heffx: Euro (€) to US Dollar ($) (EURUSD) Headed Lower in 2014

NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Shayne Heffernan of Heffx www.heffx.com has lowered his forecasts for Euro-area GDP growth for 2013 and 2014 as well as setting a 2014 target of 1.24 for the EUR/USD.

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Shayne Heffernan said the current 1.2% forecast from the European Commission for 2014 is overly optimistic and an attempt to build confidence rather than having a foundation in any real economic fact.

The euro area will remain in recession in 2013, with activity contracting by over ½ percent. Growth will rise to just under 1 percent in 2014, weaker than previously projected.

According to the EU Commission, in 2013, the euro area will slide even deeper into recession than anticipated. In the eurozone, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would shrink by 0.4 % and in the whole of Europe by 0.1 %. In the second half of 2013, GDP growth is expected to reach positive figures again, achieving a slight plus in 2014: in 2014,

GDP in the eurozone is expected to grow by 1.2 %, in the whole of Europe by 1.4 % and in Austria by 1.8 % - always on the assumption that the policies in the individual countries will remain unchanged. According to the present forecast, in 2013, at 2.9 percent, this year new debt in the euro area will be under the three percent threshold of the stability pact.

A deficit of 3.4 % has been forecast for the entire EU, whereby both key figures for 2014 will probably not change. In respect of Austria, this forecast anticipates a deficit of 2.2 % in 2013 and of 1.8 % in 2014.

Thus, the debt ratio - the ratio of government debt to GDP - in the European States will remain high. Inflation too is expected to remain at a low level in 2013 and 2014. Another reason why all these figures gain in importance in the European debate is the fact that the current economic forecast forms the quantitative basis for those country-specific recommendations of the Commission, which will be addressed at the end of May within the scope of the "European Semester".

26.424 million people in the Euro Area, remain unemployed.

The unemployment rate increased in seventeen Member States and fell in ten according to the June report. The  highest increases were registered in Cyprus (11.7 percent to 17.3 percent), Greece (23.1 percent to 26.9 percent between April 2012 and  April 2013) and Slovenia (8.8 percent to 11.2 percent). The largest decreases were observed in Latvia (15.5 percent to 12.5 percent between the first quarters of 2012 and 2013) and Estonia (10.1 percent to 8.0 percent between May 2012 and May 2013).

Media Contact:Shayne Heffernan, Knightsbridge Law Co Ltd, +65 6329 6408, shayne@knightsbridgelaw.com

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SOURCE Heffx