Euro zone growth confirmed slowing in first quarter on lower trade

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The euro zone economy grew by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous three-month-period, the European statistics agency said on Thursday, confirming its earlier estimate of a slowdown of the bloc's output.

Reduced trade contributed to the slower pace of the expansion, which was propped up by increased consumption and investments, Eurostat data show.

Eurostat also confirmed that the economy of the 19 countries sharing the euro zone grew by 2.5 percent year-on-year, in line with market expectations.

The growth pace decelerated from a quarterly 0.7 percent and a yearly 2.8 percent in the last quarter of 2017.

Euro zone exports fell by 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter and imports dropped by 0.1 percent, in a new sign of slower global trade.

In the same period, household consumption rose by 0.5 percent in the currency bloc. Gross fixed capital formation, a measure for investments, also grew by 0.5 percent in the first quarter.

The euro zone expanded less than the United States, which recorded a 0.5 percent quarterly growth in the first three months of the year, a slower rate than the 0.7 percent expansion in the previous quarter.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio)