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Euro Zone Succumbs to Mildest of Recessions on Energy Shock
The euro area suffered the mildest possible recession during the winter after Russia’s war in Ukraine sent energy prices soaring. The 20-nation economy shrank by 0.1% between January and March, revised data showed Thursday, adding to a fourth-quarter decline of the same magnitude and resulting in the first six-month contraction since the Covid-19 pandemic. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had estimated output stagnated at the start of the year. The outcome will come as a blow after politicians and European Central Bank officials said repeatedly that a downturn could be averted even as inflation rocketed to its highest ... (full story)