The eurozone grew 0.3% in the first quarter and equaled the US for the first time in almost two years

June 7 () –

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the euro zone registered an expansion of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2024, according to the third reading of the data published today by Eurostat, which allowed it to at least match the quarterly growth rate of the United States. United for the first time since mid-2022.

In the case of the euro zone, economic activity registered an acceleration between January and March, with growth of 0.3% compared to the previous three months, when it fell 0.1% and after the stagnation of the third quarter of 2023 .

For its part, in the United States the expansion figure of 0.3% between January and March represents a marked slowdown in activity, which had increased by 0.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 1.2% between July and September of last year.

Likewise, in the European Union as a whole, GDP expansion in the first quarter reached 0.3%, after the stagnation observed between October and December 2023.

Among EU countries, the highest growth rate in the first quarter of 2024 corresponded to Malta (+1.3%), ahead of Cyprus (+1.2%) and Croatia (+1%), while contraction in Denmark (-1.8%), Estonia (-0.5%) and the Netherlands (-0.1%).

Among the main EU economies, Germany’s GDP in the first quarter grew by 0.2%, after falling 0.5% in the previous three months, while in France it slowed to 0.2% from the 0.3% and in Italy it increased by 0.3%, compared to 0.1%.

In the case of Spain, GDP grew by 0.7% between January and March 2024, in line with the rate of expansion observed between October and December of last year.