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The eurozone economy is unexpectedly staging in the fourth quarter, which increased pressure on the European Central Bank to reduce interest rates more strongly.
The lack of growth in a quarter compared to the expansion expectations of 0.1 percent by the economists, which were included in Reuters and 0.4 percent growth in the third quarter.
For 2024, and Economy of the euro area 0.7 percent expanded, according to the data issued by Eurostat on Thursday.
The numbers just come hours before the European Central Bank is expected to reduce the standard interest rate by a quarter of a point to 2.75 percent, which is the lowest level since early 2023.
“Economic expectations in the region are worse than most of them believe,” said Jack Allen Reynolds at Capital Economics. “We expect this European Central Bank to lead to reducing interest rates by more than this year than it is deducted in the market.”
The recession also emphasizes the challenge facing the region as Germany, the largest economy in the eurozone, struggling with a severe contraction in manufacturing.
German GDP has been contracted by 0.2 percent in the last three months of 2024, while France's economy was unexpectedly shrinking by 0.1 percent. The output was flat in Italy.
In the aftermath of the data, traders have increased the bets that the European Central Bank will reduce prices four times this year, according to the exchange market.
The euro, which weakened in recent months, has not changed with the low interest rates in the United States and European, at $ 1.041.
The deteriorating image in the eurozone with the United States, which the International Monetary Fund expects to grow by 2.7 percent this year, near its pace in 2024. The American Federal Reserve has left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday.
