04/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - During the first quarter 2007, the GDP of the euro area and that of the EU27 was up 0.6% compared to the first quarter, where they were both +0.9%. Compared to the same period for 2006, the GDP of the eurozone showed growth of 3.0% and that of the EU27 of 3.32%, against +3.3% and +3.5% respectively during the third quarter. This was mainly due to the strong growth in investments (rise of 2.5% in the euro area and 2.6% in the EU27), while household consumption remained almost stable. In the United States, GDP was up 0.2% during the first quarter of 2007, after +0.6% for the fourth quarter 2006. In Japan, the GDP increased by 0.6% during the first quarter, after +1.2% for the previous quarter. (ab)