Eurozone (EA16) and the EU27 GDP (gross domestic product) fell by 2.5% in the first quarter of 2009, compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates published today by Eurostat, the EU statistics office. In the fourth quarter of 2008, growth rates were -1.6% in the Eurozone and -1.5% in the EU27. In the 12 months to March 2009, seasonally adjusted GDP fell by 4.6% in the Eurozone and by 4.4% in the EU27 after -1.4% contractions in both zones in the previous quarter.
During the first quarter of 2009, US GDP decreased by 1.6% compared with the previous quarter, after -1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2008. US GDP fell by 2.6% compared with the same quarter of the previous year (-0.8% in the previous quarter).
Earlier today, the German federal statistics office Destatis, reported the downward trend of the German economy accelerated in the first quarter of 2009. The gross domestic product (GDP) fell 3.8% in the first quarter of 2009, compared with the fourth quarter of 2008 when it declined 2.2%. The 12-month fall was 6.7%.
