Growth steady in Europe but Greece still in decline
THE Eurozone economy expanded by 0.4 per cent in the three months to September, it was revealed yesterday.
The rate of growth slowed, down from one per cent in the previous quarter, said the European Commission’s Eurostat office.
Yet household consumption also grew, creeping up by 0.3 per cent.
Growth continued to be driven by core economies such as Germany, which recorded 0.7 per cent growth.
The Eurozone’s troubled economies, however, are lagging behind. In Spain GDP stagnated, while the Greek economy contracted by 1.1 per cent. Greek GDP also fell in the second quarter of the year, down by 1.7 per cent.
Portugal experienced some growth, with GDP rising by 0.4 per cent, up from 0.2 per cent in the three months to June.
Meanwhile, industrial producer prices were up by 0.4 per cent in the euro area for October.
“Underlying prices are likely to remain moderate over the medium term,” said Fabio Fois of Barclays Capital Research. “The amount of slack in the economy accumulated during the crisis is still weighing on domestic demand.”