Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com – The Eurozone saw 0.2% growth over the first three-months of this year. However, its post-pandemic performance slowed sharply towards the end due to pressure from record-high inflation as well as the war in Ukraine.

Eurostat releases Friday’s data, showing that 5.0% was more than one year prior, an indication of how the economy in the region still suffered from the severe effects of the pandemic. 

Although both numbers were generally in line, there was some variation from the consensus of some major member countries. Strong investment spending helped the region overcome fears of stagnation and increase 0.2%.

Eurostat reported at the same time that inflation in the Eurozone has reached an all-time high, surpassing 7.4% in March. Consumer prices rose 7.5% in April, up from 7.4% in March  While the slower rise in the headline rate suggests that an absolute peak for inflation may be near, underlying price pressures remained strong: rose by over 1% for the second month running, and Eurostat’s excluding food and energy accelerated far more than forecast to 3.9% from 3.2% last month.

As national GDP data from the Eurozone were released ahead of Eurozone figures, the USD rose around half a penny in the early hours. At 5:20 AM ET (0920 GMT), the price was $1.0576. This is 0.8% more than it was on the previous day. The sentiment towards the euro and risk assets was also lifted by a rebound in Chinese assets following Beijing’s promises of greater economic support.