BRUSSELS – The eurozone economy grew by a strong 2% in the second quarter, according to official data released today, as reopened businesses lifted activity out of the worst of the pandemic doldrums.
The expansion in Europe was stronger than in the United States, where the economy grew by 1.6% compared to the previous quarter and China which saw a 1.3% expansion in the period.
Some of the biggest rates of growth were seen in Italy and Spain, the countries hit hardest by the first wave of the crisis in 2020.
But the 19 countries that use the euro are still trying to catch up on ground lost throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in which its economy suffered the most in the developed world.
All eyes are now on whether the momentum can hold, with the Delta variant of the virus seeing countries consider new orders to limit activity that could put a brake on the economy’s growth dynamic.
Eurostat, the EU’s official data agency, also said that inflation rose to 2.2%, above the European Central Bank’s (ECB) target of near, but below, 2%.
Higher consumer prices, brought on by energy costs and clogged supply chains, are becoming a political hot potato.
Influential voices from Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, are calling for the ECB to cool the economy by tapering down its historic levels of stimulus.
In a big release of data before the summer break, the agency said unemployment in June fell to 7.7% in the 19-country eurozone, 0.3 percentage points lower than a month earlier.
The unemployment rate for the EU as a whole followed a similar trend, declining by 0.2 percentage points over a month to 7.1%. – AFP, July 30, 2021
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