The growth domestic product in France was stable in volume terms (0%) in the second quarter of 2015, said the French national institute of statistics and economic studies (INSEE).
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The country was expected to grow 0.2 per cent, having advanced 0.7 per cent the previous quarter – a figure that was revised upwards.
“After a very dynamic first quarter, the level of activity has held up”, he said.
The data from Eurostat came after preliminary figures from Greece suggested its economy grew 0.8 per cent in the second quarter.
Underpinned by exports, Germany’s growth improved to 0.4% from 0.3% in the first quarter. “Inventories have likely shaved off a bit of growth in the second quarter, but this actually bodes well for the second half, as industrial orders remain strong according to the European Commission’s business survey”.
Italy’s GDP was up only 0.1 percent, and the Netherlands also showed a weak 0.2 percent growth. Eurozone unemployment was 11.1% in June, more than double the rate in the U.S. and far higher than in the U.K.as well. In July 2014 the rate was 0.4 percent.
The first estimate from Eurostat marks a slight slowdown from the 0.4% registered in the first quarter. Italian GDP continued to expand but by 0.2% compared with 0.3% in the first quarter, leaving output only 0.5% higher than a year ago.
Estonia recovered in the second quarter, with GDP rising 0.8% following a 0.3% fall.
Investment in housing, however, contracted for the eighth quarter in a row.
Moreover, compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.2 percent in the eurozone and by 1.6 percent in the EU in the second quarter of 2015. It was the first growth in three quarters. On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.6%.
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In the minutes of its July policy meeting released on Thursday, the European Central Bank said financial developments in China and an increase in U.S. interest rates may have more impact than expected on the Eurozone’s fragile economy.
