Eurozone economy grows 0.1% in 1st quarter

The euro area's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.1% in the first quarter of this year, missing the market's forecast, according to a preliminary flash estimate on Friday.

This figure still marked an increase from the stagnation of October-December last year, according to Eurostat data, though economists had expected eurozone growth to be 0.2% quarter-on-quarter.

The EU economy, meanwhile, registered 0.2% growth in the most recent three-month period after contracting 0.1% in the previous one.

Among the bloc members for which data is available, Portugal posted the largest quarterly growth rate with 1.6%, followed by Spain, Italy, and Latvia, all of which had 0.5%.

Ireland's economy contracted the most by 2.7%, as did Austria's by 0.3%.

On an annual basis, GDP rose 1.3% in both the euro area and the EU in the first quarter of 2023.

Year-on-year growth rates were positive for all countries, except Germany, Eurostat said.