Eurozone growth hits 0.6pc in first quarter of 2017

AFP, BRUSSELS: Growth in the eurozone accelerated in the first quarter of 2017 as the economy brushed off the unknowns of Brexit and fraught elections in France, data showed yesterday.
The EU's Eurostat statistics agency said growth in the eurozone landed at 0.6 per cent in the January to March period, revising an earlier estimate of 0.5 per cent.
This was above the 0.5 per cent in the previous quarter and exceeded analyst forecasts.
The fresh data lent credence to a surveys suggesting the eurozone economy is growing at its fastest pace since it emerged from the worst of the financial crisis six years ago.
The eurozone economy has seen a steady period of growth, expanding by 1.8 per cent in 2016 with jobs hiring also on the rise.
That was faster than the United States' growth rate of 1.6 per cent last year, the slowest pace since 2011.
The IMF forecasts that the eurozone will maintain that pace in 2017 with annual growth of 1.7 per cent.
Spain was a solid performer in the period from January to March, growing by 0.8 per cent as the country continues to recover from a damaging real estate crash marked by sky-high unemployment.
But economic growth in France slowed in the first quarter to 0.3 per cent just before the country chooses its next president in an election where the economy is taking centre stage.

Eurozone growth hits 0.6pc in first quarter of 2017

AFP, BRUSSELS: Growth in the eurozone accelerated in the first quarter of 2017 as the economy brushed off the unknowns of Brexit and fraught elections in France, data showed yesterday. The EUs Eurostat statistics agency said growth in the eurozone landed at 0.6 per cent in the January to March period, revising an earlier estimate of 0.5 per cent. This was above the 0.5 per cent in the previous quarter and exceeded analyst forecasts. The fresh data lent credence to a surveys suggesting the eurozone economy is growing at its fastest pace since it emerged from the worst of the financial crisis six years ago. The eurozone economy has seen a steady period of growth, expanding by 1.8 per cent in 2016 with jobs hiring also on the rise. That was faster than the United States growth rate of 1.6 per cent last year, the slowest pace since 2011. The IMF forecasts that the eurozone will maintain that pace in 2017 with annual growth of 1.7 per cent. Spain was a solid performer in the period from January to March, growing by 0.8 per cent as the country continues to recover from a damaging real estate crash marked by sky-high unemployment. But economic growth in France slowed in the first quarter to 0.3 per cent just before the country chooses its next president in an election where the economy is taking centre stage.