The European Central Bank is cutting its key interest rate, a step to boost an economy that’s struggling to grow as consumers burned by inflation warily eye price tags and businesses try to chart a course amid political turmoil in leading economies France and Germany.

Europe's economy stagnated at the end of last year as former growth engine Germany floundered to the end of a second straight year of shrinking output, officials said Thursday.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected growth of 0.1% over the period, following a larger-than-expected 0.4% expansion in the third quarter.

The euro zone economy stagnated last quarter as worried consumers zipped up their purses, adding to fears that a long-predicted recovery could be further delayed, Eurostat data showed on Thursday.

The eurozone economy failed to grow in the fourth quarter of 2024, marking a sharp slowdown from the previous quarter and missing expectations for modest expansion. Flash figures released by Eurostat on Thursday showed that gross domestic product (GDP) was unchanged from the previous quarter,

The euro zone economy experienced stagnation last quarter as reluctant consumers curbed spending, casting doubt on recovery prospects. Factors like Germany's contraction and high energy costs contribute to the slowdown.

The euro area economic growth ground to a halt in the fourth quarter as output shrunk in Germany and France and remained flat in

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Europe's economy stagnated at the end of last year as its former growth engine, Germany, finished a second straight year of shrinking output, officials said Thursday.Gross domestic product was flat with a zero increase in the final quarter of 2024 in the 20-nation eurozone,

Europe’s economy stagnated late last year as its former growth engine, Germany, finished a second straight year of shrinking output.

The ECB's deposit rate was cut to 2.75% from 3%, the lowest in nearly two years. It was the fifth cut by the ECB in its last six meetings, and came after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday stood pat on rates and signaled it was in no hurry to deliver further cuts.