‘Economic Stronghold’
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, fueled the expansion with 0.4 percent growth in the fourth quarter, while French GDP rose 0.3 percent. Both results exceeded economists’ forecasts.
“Germany remains the economic stronghold of the euro zone,” Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING Group NV in Brussels, said in an e-mailed statement. “Looking ahead, the German economy should gain further momentum. Filled order books and the latest inventory reductions bode well for industrial production in the coming months.”
Italy’s economy grew 0.1 percent after stagnating in the third quarter, today’s data showed. Still, the country’s recovery is “weak and uncertain,” Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco said on Feb 8. Dutch GDP rose 0.7 percent.
The news from the euro area’s periphery was generally positive, with Spanish and Portuguese GDP up 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. In Cyprus, the economy shrank 1 percent from the third quarter. Greece’s contraction slowed to an annual 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, based on non-seasonally adjusted data.