Euro zone sees strong rebound as lockdowns ease

Holiday hotspots are helping drive a rebound in euro zone growth.

New figures out Friday (July 30) showed the region's economy expanding 2% in the second quarter.

That was better than the 1.5% forecast by analysts.

Tourism-dependent Portugal was among the star performers.

Its economy grew almost 5% over the period.

Spain and Italy also outperformed the region as a whole.

But there was a different story in the euro zone's economic heart.

Germany's economy grew just 1.5%, falling short of forecasts.

And France saw expansion of just 0.9%, as its third lockdown eased from May.

Growing cause for concern too for consumers.

Euro zone inflation hit 2.2% in July, shooting past the European Central Bank's 2% target.

Energy prices were once again the driving force, rising more than 14% year-on-year.

For now that probably won't worry ECB policymakers too much though.

They've said previously that the spike in prices is likely to be short-lived, predicting it will fade away next year.