Data shows European economy 'remains resilient' despite recent surge in energy prices
The euro area economy expanded by 0.4% in the second quarter of this year, preliminary data has shown, beating widespread expectations of weaker growth due to the Iran war.
The 21-country currency bloc’s growth, reported by Eurostat on Thursday, also marked a sharp uptick from the first quarter’s stagnation, which was largely driven by the economic upheaval triggered by the US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the eurozone to expand by just 0.2% from April to June this year.
A boost in exports saw Germany and France, the EU’s two largest economies, both expand by 0.2% in the second quarter. Italy and Spain, the eurozone’s third and fourth-biggest economies, also defied analysts’ forecasts to grow by 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively.
The eurozone also grew by 1% compared to the same period last year. The 27-country EU fared even better, expanding by 0.5% and 1.2% on a quarterly and annual basis, respectively.
