Eurozone economy avoids recession ‘by a whisker’

Spain and Italy enjoyed a 0.5% rise in GDP, with France rising by 0.2%, but Germany recorded no growth at all. Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP

The eurozone has defied predictions that the Ukraine war would plunge it into recession after a warm winter blunted the impact of higher energy prices.

Data from Eurostat – the EU’s statistical agency – showed that growth in the 20 countries using the single currency stood at 0.1% in the first three months of 2023.