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.

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,

Gross domestic product in the 20 nations sharing the euro was unchanged compared with the previous quarter, falling short of expectations for a 0.1% expansion in a Reuters poll.

The euro zone economy saw zero growth in the fourth quarter, flash figures published by the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat showed Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected growth of 0.

Germany’s public debt currently stands at 62%, according to Eurostat data, thus twenty points below the EU average and much lower than in other G7 economies – all of which have a government debt level of above 100% of GDP.

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.

AUD/USD is defending minor bids above 0.6200 in the Asian session on Friday, hanging close to a nearly two-week low amid the latest tariff threat from US President Trump on Chinese imports. Further, increased bets for February RBA rate and China's economic woes remain a drag on the pair. US PCE eyed.

EUR/CAD receives downward pressure amid rising odds of further interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank.

The eurozone's poor performance was largely due to economic downturns in Germany and France, the bloc's two largest economies, which contracted by 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.

The euro zone unexpectedly stagnated at the end of last year as government collapses in its top two economies bruised confidence among businesses and consumers.Most Read from BloombergManhattan’s Morn