ANKARA

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the eurozone rose 0.7% on a quarterly basis this April-June, beating market estimates of a 0.2% rise, according to preliminary estimates on Friday.

It was the strongest growth figure seen in the prior three quarters, data from Eurostat showed.

The EU economy grew 0.6% in the second quarter of this year, compared to the previous three-month period.

In the first quarter of 2022, GDP grew 0.5% in the euro area (countries that use the euro currency) and 0.6% in the full EU.

On an annual basis, GDP expanded 4.0% both in the euro area and in the EU in the second quarter of this year.

Among the member states for which data are available for the three months to June, Sweden saw the highest increase compared to the previous quarter with 1.4%, followed by Spain (1.1%) and Italy (1.0%).

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, stagnated with 0% growth in the second quarter, while Latvia (-1.4%) and Lithuania (-0.4%) – both small countries bordering Russia – both contracted on a quarterly basis, as did Portugal (-0.2%).