Euro Zone growth slows more than expected
Euro zone economic growth slowed more than expected in the third quarter against the previous three months, revised data from the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat showed.
Eurostat said gross domestic product in the 16 countries using the euro grew 0.3 per cent in the third quarter against the April-June period, rather than 0.4 percent as reported previously. Year-on-year growth was unchanged at 1.9 per cent.
Eurostat confirmed that household consumption, government spending and net trade contributed 0.1 percentage point each to the overall result.
Inventories, which in the previous Eurostat report did not contribute to growth, were revised to have added 0.1 percentage point, while investment, also previously with no impact on the final figure, subtracted 0.1 percentage point.
Eurostat confirmed German third quarter growth at 0.7 per cent in quarterly terms, but revised upwards Italian growth to 0.3 per cent from 0.2 per cent and the Dutch economy was flat rather than in a 0.1 percent quarterly contraction.
But Greece had a 1.3 percent recession, rather than the 1.1 percent previously reported, and Portugal’s growth was 0.3 percent rather than 0.4 percent.
Also French growth was 0.3 per cent rather than 0.4 percent and Finland’s was only 0.5 percent rather than 1.3 per cent.
Separately, Eurostat said the unemployment rate in the euro zone was unchanged at 10.1 percent in November, even though the number of people without jobs decreased by 39,000 to 15.924 million.