BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT—The eurozone economy grew much faster than expected in the second quarter, but economists said it might be the economy’s last hurrah before ever-higher inflation and supply chain problems cause a mild recession in the second half of the year.
The stronger growth came despite stagnation in the bloc’s biggest economy Germany, where high inflation and fears of a gas crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine have caused consumer and business sentiment to plummet, economists said.
The EU’s statistics office said eurozone gross domestic product rose 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter in the April–June period for a 4.0 percent year-on-year gain, strongly beating expectations of a 0.2 percent quarterly and 3.4 percent annual gain….