Germany Fails to Lift Eurozone GDP

The euro zone economy grew by 0.3 percent in the last three months of 2015, meeting expectations, official statistics show.

Data from Eurostat showed that, year on year, the gross domestic product (GDP) for the 19 countries that use the euro grew a respectable 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter. Although that was still lower than the 1.8 percent seen in the same period by the broader 28-country European Union.

Greece and Finland were the only countries in the single currency area that reported a contraction in GDP in the fourth quarter, of 0.6 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit which compiles purchasing manager’s index (PMI) surveys for the region, said the data confirmed “steady but disappointingly unspectacular growth achieved by the euro zone.”

“The coming year also looks challenging. January PMI survey data have already indicated a limp start to 2016, registering one of the weakest expansions seen over the past year. Although there are signs of renewed life in the region, linked in part to the weak euro helping spur exports, the migrant crisis, political uncertainty, high unemployment and sluggish global demand all pose downside risks to the outlook,” he said in a note Friday.

CNBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Craig Erlam

Craig Erlam

Former Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary.

His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News.

Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.