The economies of the eurozone countries grew by just 0.1% in the latter part of the year, half that of Spain, with an annual growth rate of 3.5%
Many organizations predicted a technical recession in Europe by anticipating the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 to be negative. However, figures released this Tuesday by Eurostat dispel the ghosts of the European recession by indicating that the Eurozone rose by 0.1% in the latter part of the year. This is much lower growth than in previous quarters (0.6% in the first quarter, 0.9% in the second and 0.3% in the third) as the economy slowed to its lowest level since early 2021, but the GDP remained positive rate.
It is half the growth in Spain, which was 0.2% in the fourth quarter, one of the few countries in the eurozone as a whole to escape the negative rate. Germany was down -0.2% at the end of the year, Italy -0.1%; while France scored 0.1% and Portugal the same percentage as Spain, 0.2%.
For example, GDP for the whole of 2022 rose by 3.5% in the eurozone and by 3.6% in the European Union (EU). This is an increase that is much higher than that of the United States, at 2.1%. In Spain, the economy grew by 5.5% for the year as a whole, which, based on available data, is the largest improvement in the euro area.
The European Commission’s forecasts published this Monday indicate that 2023 will be a year marked by “serious setbacks”, but the body assured that the area will avoid a recession. According to his estimates, the EU will “barely” avoid a technical recession due to the containment of consumption and economic activity due to high inflation and will grow by 0.8% this year.
In this context, Brussels predicts that the Spanish economy will grow by 1.4% this year, four tenths more than what the body calculated in November, and rise to 2% in 2024.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
