3rd quarter: GDP growth in the euro zone weaker than expected

According to a flash estimate released on Tuesday, economic growth in the euro zone was weaker than expected in the third quarter. Compared with the previous quarter, gross domestic product contracted slightly, while the year-on-year growth rate slowed sharply.

Not as expected

Economists polled by Reuters had expected quarterly growth of 0.0% and a year-on-year increase of 0.2%. The result is a different one.

According to the European Union's statistics office (Eurostat), GDP in the 20 eurozone countries fell 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the July-September period, while it rose 0.1% year-on-year.

According to Eurostat data, the situation for the individual countries is as follows:

France: quarterly growth of 0.1

Spain: quarterly growth of 0.3

Belgium: quarterly growth of 0.5%.

However, this growth could not compensate for the slumps or standstills in the following countries.

Germany: quarterly slump of 0.1

Italy: no growth

Further declines in Austria, Portugal, Ireland, Estonia and Lithuania.

The euro zone is facing strong headwinds from high inflation and record high interest rates, and fiscal policy is slowly being tightened.

Source: www.reuters.com