The German and French economies grew stronger than forecast in the three months to the end of June, setting the stage for the end of the eurozone's 18-month long recession data showed Wednesday, DPA reported. While German gross domestic product expanded by 0.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter, France pulled out of recession to chalk up a 0.5-per-cent quarterly growth rate, the nations' statistics offices reported in separate statements. Figures to be released later on Wednesday by the European Union's statistics office Eurostat are widely expected to show the eurozone grew by 0.2 per cent in the three months to June, after six consecutive quarters of contraction.
