Eurozone GDP Grows 0.4% in Q3... France Contracts

Spain grows 0.6%, Germany 0.2%
France contracts 0.1% amid violent protests

The eurozone economy (the 21 countries that use the euro) grew 0.4% in the third quarter from the previous quarter.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Eurostat, the European Union's (EU) statistical office, said on Oct. 30 (local time) that preliminary figures showed eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.4% in the third quarter from the previous quarter. It grew 1.3% from the same period a year earlier.

Growth slowed slightly from 0.6% in the second quarter amid inflation fueled by rising energy prices and a contraction in the French economy, but exceeded the market forecast of 0.2%.

Bloomberg said the European economy had shown considerable resilience despite inflationary pressures and the heat waves and drought this summer.

Results varied among major economies. Germany grew 0.2% from the previous quarter, while Spain expanded 0.6%. France, which experienced large-scale violent protests nationwide, contracted 0.1%. Italy, where violent protests took place in places including Milan, stagnated, with growth at 0%.

Within the eurozone, Ireland recorded the highest growth rate at 5.5%, followed by Spain, the Netherlands and Estonia, each at 0.6%.

The possibility that inflation could spread to sectors beyond energy, along with France's unstable political situation, has kept eurozone policymakers on alert about downside risks to the economy.

Meanwhile, preliminary figures showed that the economies of the EU's 27 member states grew 0.5% in the third quarter from the previous quarter and 1.5% from the same period a year earlier.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.