The eurozone economy grew by 0.3% in the first three months of this year, emerging from recession late last year, new data shows.
The single currency's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded in the January-March period, but at half the pace of Britain's 0.6% expansion, data provider Eurostat said.
This follows two quarters in which the eurozone contracted by 0.1% and fell into a technical recession.
Among the major eurozone countries, Germany avoided recession by growing by 0.2% in the first quarter, followed by France by 0.2%, Spain by 0.7% and Italy by 0.3%. %grown.
Andrew Kenningham, chief European economist at Capital Economics, said the recovery has been “pretty slow”.
“While this is a fairly strong number, it follows two quarters in which the economy contracted. Additionally, the increase in the first quarter was partly due to a weather-related recovery in construction activity,” he said. It is unlikely that this will happen again.”
“However, if economic activity continues to show unexpected upside, the ECB could cut interest rates below the 125 basis points set for the whole year.”
The move comes after the European Commission (EC) left its growth outlook unchanged, expecting inflation in the euro zone to be lower this year than previously expected.
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The average inflation rate last year was 5.4%, but it is expected to slow to 2.5% this year, lower than the February forecast of 2.7%, while the single currency area's growth rate It was predicted that it would be 0.8%. It added that eurozone inflation is expected to be 2.1% in 2025, which is close to the European Central Bank (EBC) target.
“Global trade and energy markets appear particularly vulnerable,” the EC said in its new spring forecast. “Furthermore, sustained US inflation could lead to further delays in rate cuts in the US and beyond. “As a result, global financial conditions may become slightly tighter.”
“Domestically, the EU central bank may also postpone rate cuts until the slump in service inflation companies is over.”
“Forecasts remain subject to high uncertainty,” EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said, pointing to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Watch: What is a recession? How do you tell when it's a recession?
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