Data out of Europe has gotten worse and worse as the year has gone on, but a pick-up in Chinese trade numbers and first quarter GDP appear to have steadied the eurozone as well.
The big picture: Consumer prices in the euro area rose 1.7% last month, the strongest since November, Bloomberg reports, with core inflation, rising to 1.2%. Both readings beat economists estimates, and put an exclamation point on the economic bloc's stronger-than-expected 0.4% increase in GDP during the first quarter. It was twice the pace of Q4's growth and also beat economists' expectations.
Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann said in a speech ahead of Friday's consumer price numbers that "much suggests that the economy is only experiencing a temporary weak phase and will pick up speed again after its soft patch."
