Europe's economic blahs drag on with zero growth at the end of last year
ABC News
Europe’s economy failed to expand at the end of 2023
FRANKFURT, Germany -- Europe’s economy failed to expand at the end of 2023, with the stagnation now lasting for more than a year amid higher energy prices, costlier credit and lagging growth in powerhouse Germany.
Zero economic growth for the October-to-December period of last year follows a 0.1% contraction in the three months before that, according to figures released Tuesday by EU statistics agency Eurostat.
That extends a miserable run of economic blahs: The 20 countries that use the euro currency have not shown significant growth since the third quarter of 2022, when the economy grew 0.5%.
And the start of this year looks no better, with indicators of business activity still flashing red for contraction. Plus, disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea have constricted global trade through the Suez Canal, a major route between Asia and Europe, surging shipping costs and threatening to boost inflation.
The eurozone “is still struggling to find a bottom,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg bank.
