- Dr. Sebastian Wanke, Senior Analyst in Sentix
The Euro zone economy grew a revised 0.4% in the second quarter, while preliminary data showed a slowdown to just 0.3%. The Eurostat also raised its estimate for growth in the first three months of the year, increasing it to 0.5% from 0.4%. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.5% in the Euro area and by 1.9% in the whole European Union. A revival in exports in the Euroland was among the crucial factors, which helped to support growth in the second quarter. Exports increased by 1.6% in the June quarter, mainly due to the Euro depreciation, which allowed the Euro zone exporters to grab a larger share of world demand. However, domestic demand slowed during the second quarter, with household consumption easing and investment spending falling by 0.5% compared with the first three months of the year.
In the meantime, the report from the Euro area's largest economy also showed quite positive results, as Germany booked a higher trade surplus in July compared with the previous month. According to the latest reading, Germany's foreign trade generated a non-seasonally adjusted surplus of €25.0 billion in the reported period, up from the €24.1 billion registered in the prior month. Moreover, exports rose 2.4% following a 1.1% decline in June, and imports advanced 2.2% compared with a negative 0.8% a month ago.
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