Eurostat to release first estimate of EU, euro area Q2 GDP

The European statistical office Eurostat will today publish its first estimate of GDP developments in the euro area and the European Union as a whole in the second quarter of this year. After GDP contracted on a quarterly basis in the first quarter, analysts expect minimal growth in the second quarter.

The United States will also publish its first estimate of GDP for the April-June period today, CE Report quotes STA.

In the euro area, the volume of seasonally adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.2 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the final quarter of last year, while in the EU it declined by 0.1 percent, according to Eurostat's third estimate published in early July.

Compared with the first quarter of last year, however, GDP increased by 0.3 percent in the euro area and by 0.7 percent in the EU.

The figures were weaker than in the final three months of last year, when both areas recorded quarterly growth of 0.2 percent and slightly more than 1 percent year-on-year GDP growth.

According to forecasts by analysts at Consensus Economics, the euro area and the EU are expected to return to growth in the second quarter, although the increase is likely to be minimal on a quarterly basis.

Amid geopolitical tensions around the world, particularly the war in the Middle East in recent months, which is driving up inflation and also affecting supply chains, forecasts for the full year indicate that growth in the euro area will remain below 1 percent, while growth across the EU is expected to be just above that level.

The first estimate of U.S. GDP growth in the second quarter of the year will also be released today by the U.S. Department of Commerce. In the first quarter, according to the latest estimate published at the end of June, economic activity increased by 2.1 percent on an annualized basis.

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