Brussels, 04/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - The economy is picking up in the eurozone. According to new figures released on Wednesday 4 September by Eurostat, the eurozone economy grew by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2013 on the previous quarter, meaning that the end of recession has been confirmed, ending six consecutive quarters of shrinking gross domestic product. In the EU27, GDP grew by 0.4% over the same period.
In the EU27, the highest growth was recorded in Portugal in the second quarter (compared with the first quarter of 2013) at 1.1%, followed by Germany, Lithuania, Finland and the United Kingdom (all four at 0.7%). In France, GDP grew by 0.5%. At the other end of the scale, Cyprus (-1.4%), Slovenia (-0.3%), Italy and the Netherlands (both -0.2%) experienced the greatest decreases.
The main components of growth in the second quarter include household spending (up 0.2% in both the eurozone and the EU27 on the previous quarter). Gross capital formation rose by 0.3% in the eurozone and 0.4% in the EU27 (compared with -2.2% and -1.8 in the previous quarter). Exports rose by 1.6% in the eurozone and 1.7% in the EU27 (compared with -1.0% and -0.6% in the first quarter). Imports rose by 1.4% in the eurozone and 1.2% in the EU27 (compared with -1.1% and -0.9%).
Growth in the United States was 0.6% in the second quarter of 2013, compared with 0.3% in the first quarter. (OL/transl.fl)