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Euro zone registers marginal growth after period of stagnation

GDP for the first quarter comes in below expectations

Eurozone GDP came in below expectations for the start of this year, cloudig the picture for the ECB. Photograph: DANIEL ROLAND/AFP via Getty Images

Fri Apr 28 2023 - 10:10

The euro zone grew only marginally in the first three months of 2023 and at a rate lower than market expectations after stagnation at the end of last year, preliminary data showed on Friday.

Gross domestic product in the euro zone expanded by 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter, below expectations in a Reuters poll for 0.2 per cent growth. Compared to a year earlier, growth was 1.3 per cent against expectations of 1.4 per cent.

That compared with zero growth in the previous quarter for the current 20-nation euro zone and a quarterly decline of 0.1 per cent for the 19 countries that were in the euro zone at that point.

Among the bloc's biggest countries, Germany registered no growth after contraction in the final quarter of 2022. The economies of France, Italy and Spain did expand.

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Surging inflation due to high energy costs following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising food prices, waning confidence and increased interest rates have taken a toll on the single currency's economy.

But the economy has displayed some unexpected resilience, too, much like during the COVID-19 pandemic, when growth outperformed expectations as businesses adjusted faster to changed circumstances than policymakers had predicted.

But even if the bloc is doing better than feared, growth in 2023 will be among the weakest on record due to a large drop in real incomes and surging interest rates.

The European Commission is forecasting that the euro zone will expand by 0.9 per cent this year and by 1.5 per cent next. The EU executive said the bloc would avoid a recession, but was beset with challenges – from inflation and monetary tightening to weak external demand and general uncertainty. – Reuters

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