Economy in the eurozone
Eurozone off to a slow start, industry gains ground
The eurozone economy has started the year with lower growth than expected. While Spain and Ireland shone with strong growth, Germany and France fell short of expectations. In contrast, the increase in industrial production in March was surprisingly strong.
Luxembourg (dpa) - The economy in the eurozone did not gain quite as much momentum as expected at the beginning of the year. In the 20 countries of the currency area, economic output in the first quarter increased by 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, according to the statistics authority Eurostat. An initial survey for gross domestic product (GDP) was thus revised slightly downwards. On average, analysts had expected the first estimate of 0.4 percent to be confirmed. In the fourth quarter, the eurozone economy grew by 0.2 percent.
There were major differences between the individual member states of the eurozone: While the economy in Spain continues to run at a comparatively high level and GDP increased by 0.6% quarter-on-quarter, the two largest economies in the currency area, Germany and France, only recorded slight increases. Eurostat reported the strongest increase in Ireland with a plus of 3.2%.
Industrial production picks up significantly in March
Industrial production in the eurozone rose significantly in March. According to Eurostat, production increased by 2.6 percent month-on-month. Economists had expected an average increase of only 2.0 percent. In February, production had grown by 1.1 percent.
The highest monthly increases were recorded in Ireland (+14.6%), Malta (+4.4%) and Finland (3.5%). Due to a high proportion of outsourced production, the Irish industrial production index is volatile according to Eurostat, meaning that monthly fluctuations can be higher than in other countries.
The sharpest declines were recorded in Luxembourg (-6.3%) and Greece (-4.6%). In a year-on-year comparison, production in the eurozone rose by 3.6%. An increase of 2.5 percent had been expected here.
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