Euro Area’s GDP growth tops expectations in Q2

The Euro Area’s economy has expanded 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 of 2024, a preliminary estimate showed, or at the same pace as in the first quarter.

The latest result outpaced market expectations of a 0.2% growth.

In Q2, economies grew in:

– Spain – by 0.8% QoQ;
– Ireland – by 1.2% QoQ;
– Lithuania – by 0.9% QoQ;
– France – by 0.3% QoQ;
– Italy – by 0.2% QoQ;
– Belgium – by 0.2% QoQ;
– Portugal – by 0.1% QoQ.

Still, Germany’s economy surprisingly shrank 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, as high interest rates continued to weigh on the nation’s industrial sector.

In addition, Latvia’s economy contracted 1.1% in Q2, while Austria registered zero GDP growth.

In annual terms, Euro Area’s GDP grew 0.6% in the second quarter, or at the fastest rate in five quarters, after a revised up 0.5% growth in Q1.

The Euro was last little changed on the day against the US Dollar, with the EUR/USD currency pair trading at 1.0819.