Economy ends 2017 on strong note
The Eurozone economy continued to grow robustly in the final quarter of 2017, rounding out the best year of growth in over a decade. According to a preliminary estimate released by Eurostat, GDP increased a seasonally-adjusted 0.6% in Q4 from the previous quarter, which was a notch below Q3’s 0.7% rise. The reading matched FocusEconomics analysts’ expectations. Compared with the same quarter of 2016, seasonally-adjusted GDP expanded 2.7% in Q4, which was slightly below Q3’s 2.8% increase. For the full year 2017, GDP grew 2.5%, notably above 2016’s 1.8% increase.
The preliminary GDP data did not include a breakdown by components, but the Eurozone’s growth story is expected to have remained largely unchanged. The recovery is broad-based, with domestic demand in the driver’s seat thanks to an improving labor market and expansionary monetary policy. In addition, a robust global economy is supporting exports, even with a strong euro. More complete GDP data will be released on 14 February and 7 March.