Brussels (EFE).- The GDP of the euro area entered a technical recession in the first three months of this year after concatenating two consecutive quarters of economic contraction, of 0.1% in both cases, according to updated data from the statistical office Community Eurostat.
Therefore, the euro area could not finally avoid the technical recession that was considered over with the preliminary data from Eurostat, but which now point to a reduction in GDP also in the first quarter of this year, which is mainly explained by data from Germany.
The initial versions estimated that the main economic engine of the euro area had registered zero growth (0%) between January and March, but the new update points to a contraction of the German economy of 0.3%, which joins the fall of 0.5% in the last quarter of 2022.
Consequently, the data corresponding to the GDP of the euro area falls from the slight expansion of 0.1% calculated in the preliminary data to a decrease of 0.1% in the update on Thursday, which is added to the contraction of the same caliber observed between October and December of the preceding year.
Asked about the new data at a press conference, the European Commission highlighted that the “slight” contraction during the winter months has then been “absorbed” while the economy “continued to create jobs”, which proves the “resilience ” of the European club.
The spokesperson for the Economy of the Community Executive, Veerle Nuyts, also recalled that the latest economic forecasts from Brussels, which point to growth of 1.1% in 2023, were based on preliminary data from Eurostat and will be reviewed again “later ” once the summer has begun.
On the other hand, the economic activity of the European Union as a whole registered an increase of 0.1% in the first quarter of 2023, avoiding, in this case, the technical recession after a last quarter of 2022 with a decrease of 0. 2 %.
Italy and Spain, the fastest growing economies
Regarding the analysis of the behavior of the four largest economies in the European Union, Italy was the one that grew the most in the first quarter of this year (0.6%), followed by Spain (0.5%) and France , data that contrasts with the decreasing rate in Germany.
Compared to the rest of the Member States, Poland led the ranking with an expansion of 3.8%, ahead of Luxembourg (2%), Portugal (1.6%) and Croatia (1.4%), while the largest contractions were those observed in Ireland (-4.6%), Lithuania (-2.1%), the Netherlands (-0.7%) and Estonia (-0.6%).
The study of each component of GDP shows that final household consumption fell by 0.3% between January and March of this year both in the euro area and in the Twenty-seven, while public spending increased by 1.6% in the countries of the common currency and 0.9% in the entire bloc.
Likewise, investment (gross fixed capital formation) expanded by 0.6% in the euro zone and by 0.3% in the EU, exports fell by 0.1% in both areas and imports fell by 1 .3% also in the two geographical areas.