August 14, 2014

In Q2 2014, the Eurozone’s GDP was stable on a seasonally-adjusted basis over the previous period according to the flash estimate released by the statistical office (Eurostat) on 14 August. The Q1 reading was down from the 0.2% expansion recorded in the previous quarter. The reading—which came in below market expectations of a 0.1% increase—suggests that the Euro area recovery is losing steam. On an annual basis, the economy expanded 0.7%, which was down from the 0.9% increase recorded in Q1.



Looking at the four major countries in the region, Germany—accounting for nearly 30.0% of the Eurozone’s output—and Italy recorded contractions. In both countries, GDP contracted a seasonally-adjusted 0.2%, which in the case of Germany contrasted a 0.7% expansion in Q1, whereas in Italy it followed a 0.1% drop in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, France experienced flat growth for a second consecutive quarter, whereas in Spain GDP expanded 0.6% (Q1: +0.4% quarter-on-quarter).

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect the economy to expand 1.1% in 2014, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2015, panelists expect the economy to expand 1.5%.