Eurozone Confirms 0.3% GDP Contraction In Q4
2012-03-06 12:57:59
Eurozone economy contracted 0.3 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, a revised report from Eurostat confirmed Tuesday.
This was the first decline in euro area gross domestic product since the second quarter of 2009. In the third quarter, GDP grew 0.1 percent.
Annually, the gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent, following a 1.3 percent expansion in the third quarter.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, household consumption fell 0.4 percent after 0.3 percent growth in the preceding period. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent drop.
Government spending fell 0.2 percent during the period compared with expectations for no change. Investment contracted for a third consecutive quarter. Last quarter, investment dropped 0.7 percent, steeper than the 0.4 percent decline expected.
During the three-month period, exports fell 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter and imports were down 1.2 percent.