The euro zone’s GDP barely grew in the second quarter of 2019, data showed on Wednesday, as economies across the bloc lost steam and the largest, Germany, contracted thanks to a global slowdown driven by trade conflicts and uncertainty over Brexit. In June 2019 compared with May 2019, seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 1.6% in the euro area (EA19) and by 1.5% in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In May 2019, industrial production rose by 0.8% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU28.
In June 2019 compared with June 2018, industrial production decreased by 2.6% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU28. European Union statistics office Eurostat said gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the 19-country euro zone was 0.2% in the second quarter versus the previous quarter, a slowdown from 0.4% percent in the first three months of 2019.
The GDP flash estimates numbers, including year-on-year growth of 1.1% from the second quarter of 2019, were in line with economists’ forecasts. German GDP fell 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, Germany’s Federal Statistics Office said earlier on Wednesday. The annual growth rate in Europe’s largest economy slowed to 0.4% in the second quarter from 0.9% in the first.
A global slowdown has affected growth across western Europe, but Germany’s traditionally export-reliant economy has been particularly vulnerable. Industrial production in the euro zone area fell by 1.6% in June compared with the previous month, and by 2.6% from the same month in 2018. Economists had predicted less sharp drops in output of 1.4% month-on-month and 1.2%