Brussels, Feb 1 (IANS) The GDP in the eurozone increased by 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate published on Tuesday by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the eurozone’s GDP is expected to have grown by 1.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022, and it was up 1.8 per cent in the EU.
According to a first estimate based on seasonally and calendar adjusted quarterly data, in 2022 the eurozone’s GDP increased by 3.5 per cent and that of the EU by 3.6 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Despite the energy — and subsequent inflation — crisis, the eurozone economy once again defied recession in the fourth quarter, showing incredible resilience. But it was a narrow escape,” Bert Colijn, senior economist for the eurozone at ING, said.
“Most economies are currently stagnating with near-zero growth,” he added.
Germany and Italy have seen slight contractions as they suffer more from the energy crisis, while France and Spain have managed to eke out small growth rates.
Latvia’s GDP is expected to have increased by 0.3 per cent between the third and the fourth quarters of 2022, while Spain and Portugal should both record a GDP increase of 0.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2022 compared to the previous one.
Lithuania is expected to record the largest decline, with a negative growth of 1.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Austria’s quarter-on-quarter GDP growth was negative 0.7 per cent and that of Sweden negative 0.6 per cent.
The eurozone’s small growth is very likely to hide contracting domestic demand, Colijn said. Factors such as the reopening of the economy after the pandemic, mild temperatures during the autumn and government support have helped to avoid a recession.
However, it is to be noted that growth is stagnating. Contracting domestic demand is due to consumers adjusting their purchasing power to the loss they incurred last year, according to Colijn.
“An economy performing sluggishly, at best, is expected for early 2023 and a dip below zero cannot be ruled out for the first quarter,” he added.
–IANS
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