The eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter of the year and inflation dropped to a 16-month low under the weight of rapidly rising interest rates.
Official figures showed the 20-country bloc returned to growth with a 0.3 per cent rise in output in the three months to June, compared with a year earlier. Economists had expected an increase of 0.2 per cent, with the figures leading to an annual growth rate of 0.6 per cent in the eurozone.
The single currency area stagnated at the start of the year, registering no growth, and it only narrowly avoided falling into a technical recession. A recession is marked by two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
Consumer prices inflation also continued its steady decline,
