The eurozone has bounced back from its shallow technical recession after a stronger than expected performance by its “big four” economies in the first three months of 2024.
Europe’s two biggest economies – Germany and France – grew by 0.2%, while Italy and Spain posted growth of 0.3% and 0.7% respectively. Germany’s performance in the final three months of 2023 was worse thanOf the smaller eurozone economies, the best performing were Ireland, which grew by 1.1% in the first three months of 2024, and Latvia, Lithuania and Hungary, which expanded by 0.8%.
Although the eurozone’s growth performance in the first quarter was stronger than the European Central Bank had been forecasting, analysts said lower inflation paved the way for interest rate cuts in the months ahead.and Business Research, said: “This morning’s confirmation of quarterly growth in the first quarter has put an end to a short-lived recession in the eurozone, with the economy having turned a corner since the beginning of 2024.
Andrew Kenningham, the chief Europe economist at Capital Economics, said: “While the eurozone’s mild recession appears to be over, we think the economy will expand at only a moderate pace over the rest of the year.