ECB's de Guindos: Cannot be super optimistic on European economy

Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB), crossed the wires in the last minutes saying that he cannot be 'super optimistic' on the European economy while adding that he expected the growth to pick up in the second half of the year. 

The shared currency largely ignored these comments as macroeconomic data are seen as the true gauge of the performance of the European economy, which paint a gloomy picture as highlighted by this week's disappointing Ifo figures.