Consumers Drive Euro-Zone Growth

[ASusilovic]

LONDON—The strongest rise in consumer spending since the start of the financial crisis in 2007 helped drive the euro zone's strong growth in the second quarter, indicating that the currency area's recovery is less vulnerable to expected slowdowns in other parts of the global economy than feared.

In its second estimate of gross domestic product during the three months from April to June, Eurostat confirmed Thursday that the economy grew by 1% compared to the first quarter.

However, it raised its estimate for ...

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[automateddaytra]

The European Commission said it should be noted that the latest developments in the ESI are influenced by the change of classification of economic activities that was implemented for the business surveys in May, leading to a break in the series.Internal checks, however, indicate that the changeover has affected the level, making interpretation more difficult. This level shift did not, on the whole, affect the direction of the change, but only its magnitude.

The Consumer Confidence Indicator, which is not subject to the changeover, declined markedly among EU and Eurozone consumers (both down by 3 points). Consumers were worried about the general economic outlook, although their assessment of the labour market continued to improve. The sharpest drops were reported in Southern Europe and the UK. Confidence declined among German and French consumers as well, while Dutch consumers were more optimistic.