Euro zone economy may avoid recession, Centeno says

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The euro zone economy may have outperformed expectations last quarter and ended 2022 with positive growth, European Central Bank policymaker Mario Centeno told the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"I also think that the economy has been surprising us quarter after quarter; the fourth quarter in Europe will be most likely still positive," Centeno said. "Maybe we'll be surprised also in the first half of the year."

The ECB predicted negative growth in both the fourth and first quarters before a rebound, so a positive outcome in the final months of 2022 would mean the bloc would avoid a recession, normally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)