© Reuters FILE PHOTO: A shopper pays with euro banknotes at a market in Nice, France, April 3, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File photo
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Eurozone economic growth was stronger than expected in the second quarter, data showed on Wednesday, as household spending bounced back after a half-year in which incomes were squeezed by worsening inflation.
Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office, said gross domestic product in the 19 countries using the euro rose by 0.8% in the quarter and by 4.1% from a year earlier.
In mid-August, Eurostat estimated figures of 0.6% and 3.9%.
Germany recorded no growth, France grew by 0.5% from the previous quarter and Italy and Spain by 1.1%. In the Netherlands, growth was strongest at 2.6%.
Some countries, such as Finland and Portugal, revised their growth estimates higher, while Ireland and Greece reported strong expansion after missing estimates in mid-August.
Eurostat forecast household spending for euro zone growth of 0.6 percentage points after zero for the past two quarters. Government spending contributed 0.1 percentage point and capital formation contributed 0.2.
The contribution of foreign trade was negative 0.1 percentage points.
For more Eurostat information, click:
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/news/news-releases