Europe sees stronger economic rebound, warns of energy costs

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Commission has raised its growth forecast for the year for the 19 countries using the euro. The EU’s executive branch said Thursday that the economy was bouncing back from the worst of the pandemic as people went back to work in customer-facing jobs. But it lowered the forecast for 2022, warning that high energy prices would eventually hit utility bills and weigh on people’s ability to spend. The economy also faces obstacles from supply chain logjams and rising COVID-19 infections. The autumn forecast raised the growth outlook for this year to 5.0% from 4.8% in the summer predictions, while the 2022 growth forecast dropped to 4.3% from 4.5%.