The pace of economic growth in the euro zone fell sharply in the third quarter as total output rose by 0.3 per cent from the second quarter for an annual rise of 1.9 per cent, the European Union statistics agency said today.
The slowdown in the 12-nation bloc had been anticipated by financial markets following weak growth in the euro zone's two largests economies - Germany and France.
Growth in the euro zone has been slowing gradually this year from a 0.7 per cent quarterly rise in first quarter gross domestic product to a 0.5 per cent rise in the second quarter.
The third quarter growth rate is the weakest since the second quarter of 2003 when GDP contracted by 0.2 per cent, Eurostat said.
Economists yesterday trimmed their forecasts for euro zone growth after weak German growth figures heightened concerns that high oil prices are denting global demand.
A Reuters poll of 26 economists found their mid-range estimate for growth of euro zone gross domestic product in the third quarter was now only 0.3 per cent instead of the 0.4 per cent predicted in a survey last week.
The weak performance in the euro zone is in sharp contrast to the United States, where the economy expanded by 0.9 per cent in the third quarter from the previous three months for an annual growth rate of 3.9 per cent.
Japan's economy slowed in the third quarter with quarterly GDP expanding by just 0.1 per cent from 0.3 per cent in the second quarter. On an annual basis, however, Japan's economy still grew by 3.8 per cent.