Eurozone economy on recovery path

While the recent uncertainty in relation to Greece has generated much negative newsflows for the eurozone, the underlying macro data indicate that the eurozone economy is on an improving trajectory, writes John Fahy.

The economy maintained its improved pace of growth in the first quarter of this year, growing by 0.4% for a second consecutive quarter. In year-on-year terms, growth edged up slightly to 1% from 0.9%.

The expenditure breakdown of GDP showed some broad-based improvement, with both consumer spending and investment making positive contributions to growth. Meanwhile, net trade did act as a slight drag, although this was in part due to weak growth in some of the region’s key trading partners.