Eurozone GDP growth slows to 0.3% in Q2: official data

The economic expansion in the 19-country eurozone slowed in the second quarter, official data showed on Tuesday, with the reading for the previous quarter being revised down a notch.

Seasonally adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.3 per cent in the single currency bloc and by 0.4 per cent in the wider European Union (EU), compared with the previous quarter, said Eurostat, the EU's statistic agency.

In the first three months, GDP grew by 0.5 per cent in the eurozone, Eurostat said, lower than the previous estimate of 0.6 per cent published in August. For the EU, the reading was confirmed as 0.5 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

Romania saw the highest growth of 1.5 per cent from April to June, followed by Hungary, of 1 per cent, while growth stalled in France, Italy and Finland, data showed.

Looking into the components and contributions to growth in the second quarter, household final consumption expenditure rose by 0.2 per cent in the eurozone and by 0.4 per cent in the EU. Gross fixed capital formation was stable in the euro area and increased by 0.2 per cent in the wider EU.

Exports and imports as well registered expansion in both zones, said Eurostat.

Tuesday's data came two days ahead of a policy meeting of the bloc's central bank. The European Central Bank was not expected to announce any major stimulus measures and was expected to maintain the already record low interest rates.

The Capital Economics predicted that the Bank would announce a six-month extension to its asset purchase program.

--IANS

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