Euro zone economic growth slowed as expected in the last three months of 2019 as gross domestic product shrank in France and Italy compared to the previous quarter.
But employment growth picked up more than expected, official estimates showed today.
The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said GDP in the euro zone expanded 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the three months from October to December, as announced on January 31.
This gave a 0.9% year-on-year gain – a downward revision from the previously estimated 1% growth.
The quarterly growth rate slowed compared to the 0.3% expansion in the third quarter because of a 0.1% contraction in the second biggest economy France and a 0.3% contraction in the third biggest Italy.
Growth in Germany, the biggest euro zone economy, stagnated.
Eurostat also said that euro zone employment rose 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in the last three months of 2019 for a 1% year-on-year gain.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.1% quarterly rise and a 0.8% annual increase.
Separately, Eurostat said the euro zone’s trade surplus with the rest of the world was €23.1 billion in December, up from €16.3 billion a year earlier.
This brought the total for the whole of 2019 to €225.7 billion, up from €194.6 billion in 2018.
Adjusted for seasonal factors, the trade surplus was €22.2 billion in December, up from €19.1 billion in November as exports rose 0.9% on the month and imports fell 0.7%.
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