This week sees a raft of third quarter GDP reports from the euro zone, which are unlikely to make comfortable reading. Spain has already reported reasonable 0.5 percent growth on the quarter and few if any of its peers are likely to better that.

The currency bloc as a whole grew just 0.1 percent in the second quarter of the year and Germany contracted by 0.2 percent.

Hopes of a rebound have fizzled out with Europe's largest economy struggling to eke out any growth to the point that it could be in recession, on the technical measure of two successive quarters of decline, come Friday.

Reuters polling has a consensus forecast of 0.1 percent growth in the euro zone as a whole and for Germany. France may just outdo them, growing by 0.2 percent, while Italy is predicted to contract slightly again.

"It looks as if the euro zone and Germany have avoided a technical recession. But let's be clear, the mere fact that something has not got worse is no reason to cheer," economists at ING wrote in a note.