Eurzone growth stronger than expected
The total gross domestic product of the 13-nation Eurozone was up 0.9 percent in the last quarter of 2006 over the previous quarter, taking GDP growth for the whole year up to 2.7 percent according to Eurostat, the official statistics off ice of the European Union. Growth in 2005 was at 1.4 percent for the region. The growth, which was better than had been anticipated, was in large part due to growth in Italy, Germany, and France.
The French economy grew by 2.0 percent in 2006, helped by growth of between 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter, according to INSEE, the national statistics office. There had been no growth in the third quarter. Meanwhile in Italy, fourth-quarter growth was at 1.1 percent, well ahead of predictions of about 0.3 percent growth. Growth there was helped by fewer imports and a higher demand for Italian goods from foreign buyers.
Germany, with the Eurozone’s biggest economy, had the region’s biggest growth in GDP. The German GDP added 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter after growth of 0.8 percent in the third quarter. Third quarter growth numbers were revised upward from 0.6 percent. According to the Federal Statistics Office, growth for the full year was revised up from 2.5 percent to 2.7 percent, matching growth in the Eurozone as a whole. Both foreign and domestic demand was strong in the last quarter. Domestic demand in that quarter was helped by spending ahead of a 3 percent hike in the Value Added Tax beginning January 1.
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