Eurozone GDP Growth Rises On Domestic Demand

The euro area economy expanded as initially estimated in the third quarter on household and government spending and investment, revised data published by Eurostat showed Friday.

Gross domestic product climbed 0.4 percent sequentially, which was double the 0.2 percent growth posted in the second quarter. The rates matched the preliminary estimate.

On an annual basis, economic growth improved to 0.9 percent, in line with estimate, from 0.5 percent a quarter ago.

Data today showed that household consumption expenditure advanced 0.7 percent and government spending climbed 0.5 percent. Gross fixed capital formation moved up 2.0 percent.

The net foreign trade contributed negative 0.9 percentage point to growth as exports logged a notable 1.5 percent decline, while imports moved up 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, changes in inventories provided a positive 0.4 percentage point to growth. The EU27 economy also registered a sequential growth of 0.4 percent in the third quarter. Annually, GDP advanced 1.0 percent.

Among member nations, Ireland recorded the highest sequential growth, followed by Denmark and Lithuania. The highest decreases were observed in Hungary and Latvia. Further, data showed that employment growth held steady at 0.2 percent in the currency bloc. On a yearly basis, employment rose 1.0 percent, following a 0.9 percent rise.