Evening Briefing Europe

European Stagflation May Be in the Cards as Iran War Drags On

Get caught up. 

A window display in Berlin as Germany faces a growing threat of rising inflation and lower growth. 

Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

Remember That 70s Show — bellbottoms, punk and all that disco glam? New data suggests we could also be headed toward an economic rerun of stagflation, another defining ‘70s trend, as some indicators start to flash red.

As the war on Iran chokes the global energy supply, economies worldwide are entering a synchronized shock, revealing the looming risk of higher prices and crippled growth. Multiple purchasing manager indexes compiled by S&P Global for March showed marked declines. Among those released today, the euro zone’s composite measure dropped more than predicted.