Eurozone Growth Revised To 12-Month High Of 0.6%

Brussels: The Eurozone economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, the highest rate for 12 months, supported by household spending and private sector investment, data from the European statistics agency Eurostat showed on Tuesday.

In a second revision of its figures, Eurostat said that gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.6 per cent from the previous quarter and by 1.7 per cent year-on-year.

That compared with its initial "preliminary flash" figures of 0.6 and 1.6 per cent on April 29 and subsequent downward cut in its flash estimate to 0.5 and 1.5 per cent on May 5.

The rate of growth matched the level in the first quarter of 2015, a pace only surpassed at the start of 2011, when the Eurozone economy raced ahead at 0.9 per cent.

The greatest contributions to overall euro zone GDP were household spending and private sector investment. Inventory changes and public sector spending were also positive, but imports increased by more than exports.

Quarter-on-quarter growth was at a healthy 0.7 per cent in Germany, the Eurozone's largest economy, 0.6 per cent in France and 0.3 per cent in Italy.

The only Eurozone nation suffering contraction was Greece, whose economy shrank by 0.5 per cent. There were no figures provided for Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta.