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The European Union's statistics office Eurostat
said GDP in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell 0.6%
quarter-on-quarter in the Jan-March period, for a 1.8%
year-on-year fall.
The figures were in line with the initial flash estimate on
April 30. Together with the GDP decline in the fourth quarter of
2020, of 0.7% in the quarter and 4.9% from a year earlier, the
euro zone was in its second technical recession since the
COVID-19 pandemic began.
The economies of Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands all
contracted. France's grew by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter.
Eurostat also said that employment fell 0.3% on the quarter in
the first three months of 2021 after a 0.4% quarterly rise in
the previous quarter. This equated to a 2.1% year-on-year
decline.
In separate release, Eurostat showed imports from Britain were
down by more than a third in the first quarter of 2021 following
the British exit from the EU single market.
The 27-nation bloc's trade surplus with Britain rose to 35.8
billion euros ($43.73 billion) as exports were down by a more
modest 14.3%. The decline in exports and imports was most marked
in January and less acute in March.
Eurostat said the euro zone's unadjusted trade surplus with the
rest of the world fell to 15.8 billion euros in March from 29.9
billion euros in March 2020.
Adjusted for seasonal swings, the euro zone trade surplus with
the rest of the world was 13.0 billion euros in March from 23.1
billion euros in February as exports fell 0.3% on the month
while imports rose 5.6%.
($1 = 0.8186 euros)
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, editing by Robin Emmott)
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