Germany helps Eurozone avoid falling back into recession
BRUSSELS - The 17-member eurozone and 27-member European Union avoided falling back into recession in the first quarter of the year, with few countries like Germany, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Belgium confounding expectations with a positive growth.
The EU's statistics office Eurostat in data release Tuesday of the flash estimate for the first quarter of 2012 said the growth was flat for the eurozone, while the EU27 registered marginal 0.1 per cent growth when compared to the previous three-month period.
The growth data belied expectations of a 0.2 per cent decline.
As a result, the eurozone avoided falling back into recession officially defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
In the last quarter of 2011 the growth rates contracted by 0.3 per cent in both the zones.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP remained stable in the euro area and increased by 0.1 per cent in the EU27 in the first quarter of 2012, after 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively in the previous quarter, Eurostat said.
The overall flat performance hides huge disparities in the eurozone, with the debt-ridden countries mired in recession.
Comparatively, during the first quarter of 2012, in the United States GDP growth increased by 0.5 per cent compared with the previous quarter (after 0.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011).
While in the same quarter of the previous year, GDP rose by 2.1 per cent in the United States (after 1.6 per cent in the previous quarter).
Germany, Europe's biggest economy, was primarily behind the better-than-expected performance in the EU as a strong export performance helped the economy bounce back from a slight fall in output of 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year to grow by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter despite Europe's debt crisis.
Unemployment is low in Germany and exports of manufactured goods such as automobiles and machinery remain robust.
Compared to the same quarter a year ago, Germany grew 1.7 per cent.
The European Commission expects the economy in the 17 countries that use the euro to shrink 0.3 per cent this year.
Unlike Germany, the French economy recorded zero growth in the first quarter, after a positive growth of 0.1 per cent at the end of 2011.
The French GDP figures coincide with the inauguration of the new French President Francois Hollande, who has vowed to boost economic growth.
In the run up to the presidential election, in which he ousted Nicolas Sarkozy, he campaigned hard for measures focusing that have been adopted across the eurozone.
He will visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel later on Tuesday to make the case for stimulating the economic growth alongside implementing the austerity measure.
Comments
More Edinburgh News
RSS-
Glasgow 2014 appoints London company to handle PR for Commonwealth Games
May 22 - London-based company Pitch has been appointed to handle public relations for next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, it was announced ...
-
Teenagers death in school bus crash may have been prevented by seatbelt FAI finds
Tam Cowan: Maggie May have been a bloke but Rod Stewart has still got it TAM reckons Rod Stewart is a perfect choice for the first gig at The ...
-
Scotland warned independence could cost billions in renewable subsidies
renewable energy projects if it voted for independence, putting its green energy revolution at risk.Davey told a renewable energy conference in Aberdeen that more than one-third of the UK's subsidies for wind, wave and tidal projects - currently 1.4bn a year - was spent in Scotland. That was worth 530m, even though only 9% of all UK electricity sales were in Scotland.The energy secretary ...
-
Campaigners claim fresh evidence challenges murder conviction of Angel of Death nurse Colin Norris
CAMPAIGNERS for a nurse convicted of murdering four patients claim new evidence has emerged that challenges his conviction.Glasgow-born Colin Norris was jailed for at least 30 years after being found guilty in March 2008 of murdering the elderly women while working in Leeds General Infirmary and the city's St James's Hospital in 2002.A doctor raised the alarm after noticing that one of ...
-
Church packed for funeral of Scots soldier Corporal William Savage killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan
FRIENDS, family and soldiers have gathered for the funeral of one of three servicemen recently killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.Corporal William Savage died with Fusilier Samuel Flint and Private Robert Hetherington when their Mastiff armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device on a routine patrol in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand province, on April 30.His wife Lyndsey, who is pregnant ...
-
MP Eric Joyce facing breach of the peace charges following incident at Edinburgh Airport
This website uses 'cookies' to give you the best, most relevant experience. Using this website means you're Ok with this. You can change which cookies are set at any time - and find out more about them - by following ...
-
Scottish wave energy system marks first year
Companies behind a wave energy converter off the Scottish coast said a test program added 160 megawatts of electricity to the grid. ScottishPower Renewables has completed its first year of testing. The Pelamis P2 wave energy system was connected to the grid for an accumulated 7,500 hours, contributing 160 MW of electricity to the nation's grid. "These are encouraging figures for this ...
-
Man in serious condition in hospital after being rescued from Dalkeith river bank
A MAN is in a serious condition in hospital after being rescued from a river bank. He was trapped 30m down a bank of the River Esk near High Street, Dalkeith, Midlothian, at around 2.20am today. Four fire crews used a line and a stretcher to winch the man up the bank and he was treated by paramedics before being taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with serious injuries. A spokesman for the ...
-
Sharkey murder trial House fire victim had been in pub for eight hours before fatal blaze court hears
Tam Cowan: Maggie May have been a bloke but Rod Stewart has still got it TAM reckons Rod Stewart is a perfect choice for the first gig at The ...
-
Scotland says oil greens support independence
Alex Salmond said. Salmond introduced a 42-page paper -- "Scotland's Economy: The Case for Independence" -- arguing there are enough sources of income available to go it alone. "Scotland has a strong onshore economy and vast offshore potential, as well as a highly educated workforce and world class technology and research," he said in a statement. Salmond's ...
-
Disabled thrillseekers get chance to tackle mountain bike course thanks to top-of-the-range mobility scooters
DISABLED daredevils are being given the chance to tackle a mountain bike course - on mobility scooters.Using top-of-the-range cross-country machines, they will be able to scale steep slopes and negotiate rocky, muddy terrain and puddles at up to 8mph.The scooters are up for hire alongside mountain bikes at an outdoor centre in Carradale, Kintyre.The scheme was inspired by a BBC Top Gear stunt ...
-
Grieving mum speaks of agony and relief as sons body is found in remote woods after 14 years
/* SMA widget */ #sma-val-service{ text-align: center; /*margin-top:5px;*/ margin:5px auto 5px; width:230px;} #sma-val-service img{} #sma-val-service p{ float: left; width: 100%; display: block; text-align: left; } #sma-val-service p.valuation{ text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.5em; color: Green; } #sma-val-service span{ font-weight: bold; display: block; text-align: left; ...
-
Japhet Koech from Kenyas Rift Valley to the Edinburgh marathon
running here are David Rudisha (the current 800m world record holder and Olympic champion), Wilson Kipsang (the second fastest marathon runner in history), Saif Saaeed Shaheen (world record holder in the steeplechase), Mary Keitany (twice London marathon winner) ...
-
PresbyterianChurch of Scotland relations strained by gay clerics
Relations between Irish Presbyterians and the Scottish church from whence they came four centuries ago have been strained by the Church of Scotland decision to allow gay ministers. On Monday the Church of Scotland's General Assembly voted to permit its ministers to enter homosexual relationships - while at the same time reaffirming traditional church teaching that such relationships are ...
-
Record View Only winners from Alex Salmonds tax haven plan may be foreign business owners
/* SMA widget */ #sma-val-service{ text-align: center; /*margin-top:5px;*/ margin:5px auto 5px; width:230px;} #sma-val-service img{} #sma-val-service p{ float: left; width: 100%; display: block; text-align: left; } #sma-val-service p.valuation{ text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.5em; color: Green; } #sma-val-service span{ font-weight: bold; display: block; text-align: left; ...
-
Sir Alex Ferguson set to receive tartan Irn-Bru slippers as retirement gift from makers of Scotlands other national drink
This website uses 'cookies' to give you the best, most relevant experience. Using this website means you're Ok with this. You can change which cookies are set at any time - and find out more about them - by following ...
-
Scots track star Lee McConnell reveals she is expecting first baby with husband later this year
Tam Cowan: Maggie May have been a bloke but Rod Stewart has still got it TAM reckons Rod Stewart is a perfect choice for the first gig at The ...
-
Revealed Bungling surgeon Colin Mainds may face further investigation after victim lodges fresh complaint
Tam Cowan: Maggie May have been a bloke but Rod Stewart has still got it TAM reckons Rod Stewart is a perfect choice for the first gig at The ...
-
Bedroom tax eviction nightmare for gran with sciatica as local council threatens to boot her out of home
JANE McCLEMENTS, 59, faces eviction from her three-bedroom Tullibody home - despite a SNP council chief promising residents would be safe from the hated tax for a ...
-
Uniformed HMS Edinburgh crew barred from pub just hours after receiving Freedom of the City
Just when you think you're immune to the back-stabbing that has turned the Blue Room into a battlefield, another story comes out that jolts the ...
-
Brute told pet dog good boy after it tore off disabled womans ear in horrific attack
DEREK Duncan was jailed for three-and-a-half years yesterday for attacking his former friend, cerebral palsy sufferer Nadine Crowe, and allowing his dog to maul her ...
-
Tam Cowan Maggie May have been a bloke but Rod Stewart has still got it
Tam Cowan: Maggie May have been a bloke but Rod Stewart has still got it TAM reckons Rod Stewart is a perfect choice for the first gig at The ...
News from around our Network
Comments
No comments yet for this story
Have your say