Europe plunging into recession as inflation hangs on

The European Union’s executive commission slashed its forecast for economic growth next year, saying the 19 countries that use the euro currency will slide into recession over the winter as peak inflation hangs on for longer than expected and high fuel and heating costs erode consumer purchasing power.

The European Commission’s autumn forecast released on Friday predicts falling economic output in the last three months of this year and the first months of 2023, scmp.com reported.

The commission says high energy prices, a rising cost of living, higher interest rates and slowing global trade “are expected to tip the EU, the euro area and most member states into recession in the last quarter of the year.”

Going forward, the growth forecast for all of 2023 was lowered to 0.3 percent from the 1.4 percent expected in the previous forecast from July.

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