ALBAWABA – The Eurozone economy barely grew in the second quarter of the year, according to data published by the European Union’s Eurostat data agency Thursday.
News agencies reported that Eurozone growth fell even below previously estimated figures, at a measly 0.1 percent, with having Eurostat estimated a 0.3 percent growth between April and June.
Growth, no matter how small, is good news for the Eurozone, according to Eurostat, as it indicates that the economy did not stagnate as previously feared, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. Even as it falls below the estimates first published earlier in July, at 0.3 percent.
Eurostat maintained its estimates for the wider, 27-nation EU, with zero growth in the second quarter, whereas output grew by 0.2 percent in the first quarter, according to Bloomberg.
This report on Thursday will provide European Central Bank policymakers with harder evidence on the weakness taking hold in the Eurozone economy.
Germany and Italy are the heaviest drags on the Eurozone economy this quarter - Shutterstock
Notably, the central bank is slated to convene a week from now to decide on whether another interest-rate increase is warranted to tame inflation.
Contrary to Eurostat’s reassurances, Charlotte de Montpellier, analyst at ING bank, said "The European economy is generally stagnating. It is suffering from high interest rates, energy prices and the global slowdown".
PMI data released earlier this week signaled private-sector activity is contracting, while the surveys point to further anaemic expansion of just 0.1 percent in this quarter as well, Bloomberg reported.
Germany and Italy both weighed on Euro growth.
Germany, the Eurozone’s biggest economy, and Italy — its third-largest — are suffering likely recessions in manufacturing at present, Bloomberg reported. Italy even experienced an overall GDP contraction during the second quarter, while Germany’s industrial production fell in July, a separate report showed on Thursday.
