Euro zone gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, data from the European statistics agency Eurostat showed on Friday, in a downward revision from its initial estimate.

Eurostat said that GDP growth was 0.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 1.5 per cent year-on-year.

On April 29th, it had reported the fastest rate of expansion for five years, with quarterly growth of 0.6 per cent and a year-on-year figure of 1.6 per cent.

Of the euro zone’s larger economies, German GDP increased by 0.7 per cent, French GDP by 0.5 per cent, in Italy by 0.3 per cent and in Spain by 0.8 per cent.

GDP expanded in all euro zone countries which provided data except Greece and Latvia, which contracted by 0.4 and 0.1 per cent respectively.

Outside the euro zone, the economies of Hungary and Poland also shrank in the first three months of the year.

Reuters