Eurozone second-quarter GDP slows as expected

Eurozone gross domestic product rose by 0.3% in the second quarter, confirming preliminary estimates and in line with economists’ forecasts, according to data released by Eurostat.

Compared with the same quarter last year, seasonally-adjusted GDP was up 1.6%, also as expected.

In the EU-28 group of nations, GDP grew 0.4% on the quarter and 1.8% compared with the second quarter of last year.

Germany saw 0.4% growth in the second quarter, with Spain’s GDP up 0.7% and the Netherlands up 0.6%.

Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com, said: “While the eurozone may have grown during the second quarter, a sharp drop from the first three months of the year reflects the uncertainty that gripped Europe ahead of June’s Brexit vote.

“The year started positively for Mario Draghi and his colleagues at the ECB with unexpectedly high Q1 growth, but now Britain has delivered its historic verdict to leave the EU, it looks like tough times ahead.”