Pressure on ECB as eurozone growth recedes

The eurozone economy notched up modest growth in the final three months of last year, showing the bloc has little muscle to shrug off the globe’s mounting economic problems.

After a week where stock markets around the world plunged, the 19 countries using the euro failed to lift the gloom, with data showing that growth of its GDP was just 0.3% in each of the final two quarters of 2015.

This will add to pressure on the European Central Bank to ramp up its €1.5tn money-printing scheme to buy chiefly government bonds when governors meet in March. Having spent much of their firepower, however, options are limited.