EU recovery hopes punctured

By Nigel Davies and Alan Wheatley
LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) - A stumble in sentiment punctured hopes of a rapid rebound from recession in the euro zone's services-led economy and the European Union and United States faced off against China in a looming trade dispute over raw materials.
Euro zone purchasing managers figures on Tuesday showed a recovery had stalled, although manufacturers fared better as, aided in part by government stimulus measures, they ran down stocks of goods to new lows.
In Washington, the U.S. administration readied measures to stem unemployment, while The United States and European Union were expected to launch a World Trade Organization case against China over its export restrictions on raw materials, industry sources said. [nN22519893]
A Chinese central bank official said the country's economy is headed in the right direction and should recover faster than many others'. But the foundations of the rebound were not yet solid, he said, adding his to a chorus of voices cautioning against hopes of a quick upturn.
"The recovery is not there yet. We are going to get out of recession slowly in the second half and we're not going to see a sharp V-shaped recovery," said Olivier Gasnier, analyst at Societe Generale, after weaker-than-expected French consumer spending figures.
The world economy is struggling to overcome problems stemming from last year's housing and financial market meltdown against a background of continued tight credit conditions, the corporate sector's reluctance to spend and mounting job losses.
U.S. MOVES
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk was expected to launch WTO action against China at a news conference on Tuesday, industry sources said, though his office gave no details.
Barack Obama, who has focused his first five months as president on trying to end the recession, was likely to outline plans to create jobs and stem unemployment, which economists expect to hit 10 percent in coming months.
In his fourth White House press conference since taking office, the president was expected later on Tuesday to throw his weight behind legislative bids to reform healthcare and cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
In the euro zone, surveys hinted that the worst of a dark recession had passed, but that a recovery may well take time to take root.
In France consumer spending fell by more than expected in May, underlining concerns about fragile domestic demand, while in Germany a purchasing managers' index showed the rate of contraction in Germany's private sector accelerated in June.
The PMI data added to signs Europe's largest economy faces a bumpy recovery from record recession and overshadowed a report by German GfK market research group that consumer sentiment was poised to push up.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at financial information company Markit, said the German PMI data highlighted concerns that recovery was going to be difficult.
"We may see some plateauing and ... the economy still contracting as we move through the rest of the year," he said. Continued...
Source: Reuters