Brussels, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Preliminary data released by Eurostat on Jan. 30 showed that the gross domestic product (GDP) of the euro area and the European Union both grew by 0.0 last year after seasonal and working day adjustments5%。
The data showed that after seasonal adjustment, the euro area and EU economies grew zero quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of last year, and the euro area economy increased by 01%, and the EU increased by 02%。
In the third quarter of last year, GDP in both the eurozone and the EU contracted by 0.0 quarter-on-quarter1%。In the first and second quarters of last year, GDP in both the eurozone and the EU increased by 01%。
The data also showed that in the fourth quarter of last year, the economies of Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Latvia performed relatively well, with growth from the previous quarter4% and 04%。Ireland, Germany and Lithuania did poorly, declining month-on-month3% and 03%。
Analysts pointed out that although the data showed that the eurozone economy avoided a technical recession in the second half of 2023, the eurozone economy remained sluggish due to factors such as the increase in the cost of energy and credit, among which the economy of Germany, the main economy of the European Union, shrank and the French economy also performed flat.
Diego Iscarlo, head of European economics at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the eurozone economy was "barely out of recession" by the end of 2023. But he worries that the eurozone economy will struggle to grow in the first half of this year after stagnation in the last quarter of 2023.
The outlook for the European economy in 2024 remains challenging amid weak demand and heightened geopolitical tensions, Iscaro said.
Editor: Tan Huiting.