Valve assembly for a fuel injector and fuel injector

A valve assembly (1) for a fuel injector is specified. The valve assembly (1) comprises a valve body (10) having a longitudinal axis (L), a valve needle (20), an armature (30) and an elastic member (40). The valve needle (20) and the armature (30) are axially movable with respect to the valve body (10) in a first direction (D1) and in a second direction (D2), opposite the first direction (D1). The armature (30) is biased in the first direction (D1) by means of the elastic member (40). The needle (20), when moving in the second direction (D2) to a closing position, is operable to mechanically interact with the armature (30) for moving the armature (30) in the second direction (D2) to a first position against the bias of the elastic member (40) . The armature (30) is axially moveable with respect to the needle (20) so that, when the needle (20) is in the closing position, the armature (30) is movable from the first position further in the second direction (D2) to a second position against the bias of the elastic member (40). The elastic member (40) has a plurality of beams (410), each beam having a first end (4110) and a second end (4120) which are axially and radially offset with respect to each other, and the armature (30) is operable to reduce the axial offset (d A ) between the first end (4110) and the second end (4120) when moving from the first to the second position.