BRUSSELS, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Gross domestic product (GDP) in both the eurozone and the European Union (EU) increased by 5.2 percent in 2021, according to a flash estimate released by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, on Monday.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the eurozone and by 0.4 percent in the EU. The respective growth figures for the third quarter of last year were 2.3 percent and 2.2 percent.
Year-on-year, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 4.6 percent in the eurozone and 4.8 percent in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2021, after a 3.9 percent increase in the eurozone and a 4.1 percent increase in the EU in the previous quarter.
Among the EU member states for which data are available for the fourth quarter 2021, Spain saw an increase of two percent, the highest compared to the previous quarter, followed by Portugal (1.6 percent) and Sweden (1.4 percent). Declines were recorded in Austria (minus 2.2 percent), Germany (minus 0.7 percent) and Latvia (minus 0.1 percent). The year-on-year rates were positive for all countries.
According to ING expert Bert Colijn, the quarterly 0.3 percent growth rate proved the resilience of the eurozone economy. While Omicron, inflation and supply chain disruptions continue to weigh on expansion in the current quarter, he said he did not expect growth to turn negative.
He said that despite a slowdown compared to growth in the third quarter, which was to be expected given the moderating rebound effects, supply chain problems and increased coronavirus infections, "the fact that GDP still continued to grow is a sign of strength for the economy."
However, the expert warned that GDP growth was likely to remain "feeble" in the first quarter of this year.
"While supply chain disruptions have eased slightly, we expect them to continue to dampen manufacturing growth and inflation is set to weigh on purchasing power, which dampens the outlook for household consumption. While the economy is showing increasing resilience to COVID-19 waves, the winter dip in growth is hard to avoid at this phase of the pandemic. Expect growth rates to pick up from the second quarter once again," he commented. ■