ECONOMIC GROWTH in the eurozone ground to a halt in the first quarter of 2012, with economic output in the entire 17-county bloc remaining unchanged in the first quarter of 2012.
Flash estimates produced by Eurostat this morning show that GDP in the Eurozone for the first three months of 2012 was almost exactly equal to that of the last three months of 2011.
When compared to the first quarter of 2011, total output was also unchanged within the eurozone, and was up by a modest 0.1 per cent within the entire 27-member EU.
Finland recorded the strongest economic growth of any Eurozone member in the first quarter, with growth of 1.3 per cent, ahead of Latvia on 1.1 per cent and Slovakia with 0.8 per cent.
While the economic powerhouse of Germany saw growth of 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, other larger countries fared less well: France’s economy was unchanged at 0.0 per cent, Spain’s shrank by 0.3 per cent and Italy’s dwindled by 0.8 per cent.
The Eurostat figures do not incorporate Ireland, which is not expected to report on economic growth for the first quarter of 2012 until mid-June.
The eurozone’s flat growth rate compares with 0.5 per cent in the United States.
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