By Don Nico Forbes and Ed Frankl
Economic growth in Germany, France and Spain expanded in the second quarter, overcoming some of the uncertainty about the course and consequences of conflict in the Middle East.
Gross domestic product in Germany rose 0.2% in the three months through June, compared with 0.3% growth in the first quarter. The French economy rose 0.2%, rebounding from a 0.1% contraction in the first quarter, while Spain's grew 0.7%, up from 0.6%. All were slightly ahead of consensus expectations from economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
Despite continued supply-chain disruptions and higher energy prices, driven by the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, economies across the eurozone have proved more resilient than many economists had feared following the outbreak of conflict earlier this year.
"National data released so far suggest that activity in the eurozone held up quite well in the second quarter," said Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics.
