No recession in first quarter for eurozone

Official figures yesterday showed that – unlike Britain – the eurozone and the EU as a whole avoided recession in the first three months of this year.

The 17-nation euro area saw GDP unchanged on the previous quarter while, across the 27 members of the EU, GDP grew by 0.1 per cent, according to estimates produced by the EU’s statistical office Eurostat.

GDP in both the eurozone and EU fell by 0.3 per cent in the last quarter of last year, and many observers had expected a second consecutive quarter of negative growth, effectively returning Europe into recession.

The stronger-than-expected performance in the first quarter of this year was in large part due to growth of 0.5 per cent in the German economy. Growth was also seen in Finland (1.3 per cent) and Belgium (0.3 per cent).

The French economy recorded zero growth in the first quarter, while the Italian economy contracted by 0.8 per cent and Spain’s by 0.3 per cent, according to Eurostat.

TOM PETERKIN