Eurozone economy performs better than expected in Q4
Germany saw its economy grow more than expected in the last three months of 2014
ANKARA
The eurozone economy has grown more than expected in the final quarter of 2014 compared to the previous one, the latest figures showed.
Germany, the EU's largest economy and Turkey’s main export market, increased its gross domestic product by 0.7 percent in the last quarter of 2014 after near zero growth the previous two quarters, the European statistics agency said Friday.
The country’s growth rate stood at 1.6 percent for the year 2014, higher than the Federal Statistics Office had forecast in January 2015.
GDP rose by 0.3 percent in the 18-country Eurozone in 2014’s final quarter, Eurostat said on Friday.
Meanwhile, in the full 28-member European Union, it grew 0.4 percent, the agency said.
Over the whole of 2014, GDP rose 0.9 percent in the eurozone and 1.4 percent in the EU28.
The French economy, the bloc's second largest, grew 0.1 percent in the last quarter of 2014, following a 0.3 percent increase during the July-September period.
The Greek economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the final three months of 2014 after a 0.7 percent quarterly growth pace in the third quarter.
Italy’s economy, the bloc's third largest, also disappointed after showing no growth in the fourth quarter of last year.
