Eurozone falls deeper into recession as Germany and France flounder

The eurozone slipped deeper than expected into recession in the last three months of 2012 after its largest economies, Germany and France, shrank at the end of a wretched year in the bloc.

It marked the eurozone’s first full year in which no quarter produced growth, extending back to 1995. For the year as a whole, gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.5%.

Economic output in the 17-country region fell 0.6% in the fourth quarter, EU statistics office Eurostat said yesterday, following a 0.1% output drop in the third.