Euro zone economy accelerates, but prices fall more than expected

The euro zone economy accelerated more than expected in the first quarter, preliminary data showed on Friday, but consumer prices also dropped by more than forecast in April because of a steep fall in energy costs. The European Union's statistics office Eurostat said gross domestic product in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter in the January-March period, up from 0.3 percent growth in the previous three months. On a year-on-year basis, euro zone GDP rose 1.6 pe