Much of Europe is facing stagflation. France is already there [View all]

[brooklynite]

CNN

The European economy slowed in the first three months of the year due to a combination of soaring inflation and early fallout from the war in Ukraine.

Preliminary first quarter data published Friday showed GDP grew by 0.2% across the 19 countries that use the euro, over the previous quarter. That was weaker than the 0.3% growth recorded in the final three months of 2021.

Consumer price inflation, meanwhile, rose to 7.5% in April — the highest since the European Union began keeping records 25 years ago. Rising costs for energy and food — driven higher by the turmoil in Ukraine and Western sanctions on Russia — were largely to blame.

“Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine has driven up prices for energy and foodstuffs, disrupted supply chains and dealt a serious blow to consumer confidence,” economists at Berenberg wrote in a note Friday. “As the most exposed major region globally, the eurozone has fallen into stagflation as a result.”

Perhaps inflation is more complicated than simply blaming "price-gouging"?