Euro area GDP expands 0.3% in 1st quarter

ANKARA

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area increased 0.3% quarter-on-quarter this January-March, shifting from a 0.1% contraction in the previous two quarters, according to a flash estimate on Wednesday.

This is the strongest quarterly GDP growth since the third quarter of 2022, Eurostat data showed.

The GDP in the full EU also rose 0.3% from the previous three month period in the first quarter, after being stagnated in the previous two quarters.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, saw a 0.2% growth in the first quarter of 2024 after contracting by 0.5% in the final quarter of 2023.

On an annual basis, the GDP increased 0.4% in both the euro area and the EU in three months to March.

The eurozone/euro area, or EA19, represents member states that use the bloc's single currency, the euro, while the EU27 includes all of its member countries.