Eurozone contracts despite German growth

Germany’s economy crept back into growth at the start of the year but not by enough to stop the eurozone from contracting for a sixth straight quarter, and France slid into recession.

Falling output across the bloc meant the 17-nation economy is in its longest recession since records began in 1995, with nine of the 17 eurozone countries in recession. It shrank 0.2% in the January to March period, the EU’s statistics office Eurostat said, worse than the 0.1% contraction forecast by a Reuters poll.

“The misery continues,” said Carsten Brzeski, a senior economist at ING in Brussels. “Almost all core countries bar Germany are in recession and so far nothing has helped in stopping this downward spiral.