Euro zone Q4 GDP growth slows q/q as expected on Germany

Euro zone economic growth slowed quarter-on-quarter in the last three months of 2021 as expected, data showed on Monday, but still registered strong annual growth as good performance in France and Italy offset a much weaker quarter in Germany.

The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said in a preliminary flash estimate that gross domestic product in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in October-December 2021 for a 4.6% year-on-year gain.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the 0.3% quarterly rise and forecast a 4.7% year-on-year increase as the economy continues to recover from lockdowns caused by waves of the coronavirus pandemic.

The euro zone’s second biggest economy France saw quarterly growth of 0.7% in the fourth quarter and a 5.4% year-on-year expansion while third biggest Italy grew 0.6% on the quarter and 6.4% on the year.

The biggest Germany was the weakest performer with a 0.7% quarter-on-quarter contraction and only 1.4% year-on-year growth.

Eurostat estimated that euro zone GDP in the whole of 2021 compared to the whole of 2020, based on seasonally and calendar adjusted quarterly data, increased by 5.2%.