Euro-zone GDP data for Q1 were pretty weak. Indeed, quarterly growth in the euro-zone economy slowed from 0.7% in Q4 to just 0.4%, its weakest rate since Q3 2016. And national data showed that growth declined in France and remained subdued in Italy, while monthly data suggest Germany had a softer quarter too. But we suspect that temporary factors including bad weather explain most of the slowdown in euro-zone growth. After all, indicators of economic sentiment are likely to have been hit less hard by these “one-off” factors. And despite a small fall in the European Commission’s Economic Sentiment Indicator in Q1, it remained consistent with strong GDP growth.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services