Euro area economic growth slows to 0.3 pct in Q2

The euro area economic growth slowed in the second quarter, in line with consensus expectations. The gross domestic product of the currency bloc rose 0.3 percent in the second quarter, according to Eurostat. This matches the initial estimate and is a slowdown from the first quarter’s growth of 0.6 percent.

On a year-on-year basis, seasonally adjusted GDP grew 1.6 percent in the euro area in the second quarter, as compared with the 1.7 percent year-on-year growth recorded in the first quarter. The Germany economic growth came in at 0.4 percent, a slowdown from the earlier quarter but better than expectations. Meanwhile, Italian growth stagnated unexpectedly in the second quarter.

Dutch economic growth also surpassed expectations, accelerating to 0.6 percent. France, on the other hand had stated in July that the growth stalled in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Greek economy surprisingly expanded 0.3 percent after shrinking 0.1 percent at the beginning of the year.