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Eurozone ended 2009 with disappointing minimal growth
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 12 - 02 - 2010


The eurozone economy ended 2009 with minimal
growth, recording an estimated quarterly rate of 0.1 per cent of
gross domestic product (GDP) and undercutting analysts' expectations,
the European Union's statistical arm, dpa quoted Eurostat as reporting today.
Analysts had predicted a quarter-on-quarter growth rate of 0.4 per
cent in the eurozone, the same figure as it recorded in the third
quarter of the year.
The Eurostat flash estimate is "clearly below market expectations.
It shows that indeed we still have a lot to do in terms of efforts
for recovery and in terms of economic stimulus," a spokesman for the
EU's economic and monetary affairs commissioner, Olli Rehn, said.
At the same time, he stressed that "this is only the figure for
one quarter, it has to be seen in the full picture" of recovery from
the deepest recession in EU history, he said.
The poor showing in the final three months of the year means that
the eurozone economy shrank by a full 4 per cent year-on-year in
2009, Eurostat reported.
The combined economy of all 27 EU members also grew by just 0.1
per cent in the last quarter of 2009, giving a total annual
contraction of 4.1 per cent of GDP.
The weaker-than-expected growth figures came just as European
leaders were hoping that the bloc had begun to consolidate the
tentative return to growth that it recorded in the third quarter of
last year.
After quarterly falls of 2.5 per cent in the first quarter of the
year and 0.1 per cent in the second quarter, the eurozone returned to
positive territory with a 0.4-per-cent growth rate in the third
quarter.
The EU as a whole recorded an almost identical trend.
Eurostat's figures did show that the deepest recession to hit the
EU in its half-century of history was beginning to bottom out.
The eurozone economy in the first quarter of 2009 contracted by 5
per cent compared with the first quarter of 2008. By contrast, the
last quarter of the year was just 2.1 per cent below the
final-quarter figure of 2008.
But the disappointing growth rate for the last quarter, well below
analysts' expectations, is likely to unsettle markets.
That is especially likely to be the case because of the poor
showing recorded in Germany, the euro's economic motor. Quarterly
growth flatlined in the last quarter of 2009, down from an
encouraging 0.7 per cent in the third quarter.
Italy, the eurozone's third largest economy, fell back into
recession, its quarterly figure falling from 0.6 per cent of growth
in the third quarter to a 0.2-per-cent contraction in the fourth.
Analysts say that Italy is facing a further erosion of its
international competitiveness in the wake of last year's dramatic
contraction in economic growth.
France, however, recorded a growth rate of 0.6 per cent over the
previous quarter, the third successive three-month period of positive
growth.
Markets are deeply concerned about the eurozone's health, with
Greece, Spain and Portugal all battling to clean up their state
finances in a bid to wind back ballooning deficits and spiralling
debts.
Concerns that the financial crisis which has engulfed Athens
could spread to other parts of the eurozone have already undercut the
euro's performance on foreign exchange markets.
In the last quarter of 2009, the Greek economy contracted by a
quarterly rate of 0.8 per cent. Spain's economy shrank by 0.1 per
cent, while Portugal stagnated.
Also overhanging the eurozone in the coming months is the threat
that the region's swelling job queues could hit private consumption
which in turn might slow the pace of economic growth this year.
Eurozone unemployment edged up to 10 per cent in December for the
first time since the single currency was launched more than a decade
ago, official data released last month showed.
The International Monetary Fund said last month it expects the
eurozone to grow by a moderate 1 per cent in 2010. This was up from a
previous forecast of just 0.3 per cent.


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