The euro zone closed 2022 with minimal growth that allows fear of recession to be put aside. The economy advanced 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to data released this Tuesday by Eurostat. A slowdown from the already limited 0.3% in the third quarter. In the year as a whole, GDP increased by 3.5%.
Among the countries for which there is data, in the last three months of the year the great European locomotive, Germany, contracted 0.2%. So did Austria (-0.7%) or Italy (-0.1%). The big push came from Ireland (3.5%), while Spain grew 0.2% and France 0.1%. In the whole of the European Union the economy froze, with 0.0%.
"Good news: the eurozone avoided a contraction in the last quarter. We continue to face multiple challenges, but the outlook for this year looks a little brighter today than in the autumn," said the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, on Twitter. after knowing the data.
According to the latest projections from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), published this morning, the euro area's GDP will grow by 0.7% in 2023, compared to the previously estimated 0.5%, and 1.6% next year. two tenths less than anticipated in October.
Specifically, the IMF now forecasts that Germany will manage to grow by 0.1% in 2023, when in October it anticipated a contraction of 0.3%, while for 2024 it expects a German expansion of 1.4%, one tenth less. than in October, while for France it maintains the forecast of 0.7% this year and 1.6% a year later.
In the case of Spain, the IMF has revised downward its forecasts for 2023 and 2024, with reductions of one and two tenths, respectively, to 1.1% this year and 2.4% in 2024.
Likewise, the international organization has improved its forecast for Italy in 2023 by eight tenths, with 0.6%, although it lowers next year's four tenths, to 0.9%.
