Europeans have begun to return to work, shopping and dining out, suggesting the worst of the economic damage inflicted by coronavirus pandemic lockdowns has passed, but overall activity remains well below normal standards, pointing to the long haul back to recovery the region faces.
High-frequency data indicators such as mobility and consumer spending suggest that the sharp economic contraction that has gripped major European economies since March began to ease in May and early June.
The figures are more up to date than official economic indicators, which have only been published up until April, although they are also experimental and the extent to which they reflect the subsequent trends documented in official data is variable.