Zero growth sparks alarm in eurozone states

Eurozone economic growth ground to a halt in the second quarter as Germany’s economy shrank and France’s stagnated.

The zero growth reported by statistics agency Eurostat yesterday was cause for alarm throughout the 18-nation region, which is already bracing for the impact of sanctions imposed on and by Russia over Ukraine.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, contracted by 0.2% in the quarter, undercutting Bundesbank forecasts that GDP would be unchanged. Foreign trade and investment were notable weak spots, the German Statistics Office said.