Economic performance in quarter
Economy in Eurozone is growing less than expected
Economists didn’t expect that. The economy in the euro zone has grown less than a first GDP estimate predicted. There are big differences between the euro countries.
In the euro zone, the economy did not gain driving as much as expected at the beginning of the year. In the 20 countries of the currency area, economic output increased by 0.3 percent in the quarterly comparison in the first quarter, as the statistics authority announced Eurostat.
A first survey for the gross domestic product (GDP) was easily revised downwards. Analysts assumed on average from a confirmation of the first estimate of 0.4 percent. In the fourth quarter, the euro zone economy grown by 0.2 percent.
There were great differences in the individual member states of the euro zone: While the economy in Spain continues to run on comparatively high tours and gay GDP by 0.6 percent in the quarterly comparison, the two largest economies in the currency area Germany and France only recorded slight growth. Eurostat in Ireland reports the strongest increase in Ireland with an increase of 3.2 percent.
Industrial production increases significantly in March
Industrial production in the euro zone rose significantly in March. In the month comparison, the production increased by 2.6 percent, Eurostat continued. On average, economists had only expected an increase of 2.0 percent. Production grown by 1.1 percent in February.
The highest monthly climbs were recorded in Ireland (+14.6 percent), Malta (+4.4 percent) and Finland (3.5 percent). Due to a high proportion of outsourced production, the index of Irish industrial production Eurostat is volatile, so that monthly fluctuations can be higher than in other countries.
The strongest declines were booked in Luxembourg (-6.3 percent) and Greece (-4.6 percent). In the year comparison, production in the euro zone increased by 3.6 percent. An increase of 2.5 percent was expected here.
dpa
Source: Stern
