GDP fell by 0.2%, according to Eurostat, compared with an earlier estimate showing 0.1% growth. A sharp decline in Ireland’s economy erased the eurozone’s modest growth at the start of the year.

The eurozone economy contracted at the beginning of the year after an unprecedented downturn in Ireland led to a revision of figures that had initially indicated weak growth.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 0.2% between January and March, according to figures released on Friday by Eurostat, compared with a previous estimate of 0.1% growth. The revision was largely driven by a sharp downward adjustment to Ireland’s GDP, which was found to have contracted by 12.1%, rather than the 2% decline initially reported.

Although the large number of multinational corporations based in Ireland often distorts economic data for the eurozone as a whole, the magnitude of the first-quarter decline makes it even more difficult to assess the region’s economic trajectory.

This development further complicates the task of the European Central Bank as it evaluates the economic consequences of the war involving Iran and determines the appropriate monetary policy response, including future interest-rate decisions.