Any estimate of quarterly economic output is subject to revision as more comprehensive data becomes available, with the initial estimate the most prone to error. Initial reading of the growth for the 19 nations which use the Euro, the Eurozone, for Q1 of this year came in at 0.6%. As more data became available, this figure was trimmed to 0.5%, but a third estimate shows this to be an underestimation. The current reading of Q1 GDP puts it at 0.7% giving a respectable year-on-year growth figure of 1.7%.
Eurostat is responsible for compiling statistical data for the Eurozone and the wider EU. It says that the improved growth was due to better than previously estimated household expenditure and business investment within the bloc. Data for Q4 2015 was also revised upwards from 0.3 to 0.4% which is enough to cause optimists to talk about the much awaited Eurozone recovery.
The growth seen in Q1 2016 matched that seen a year earlier and is the fastest growth that the bloc has managed since Q1 2011 which saw growth of 0.9%. It outstripped the US economy which grew by 0.2% in Q1.
A closer examination of the data shows that of the 19 members of the Eurozone, only the Greek economy contracted in Q1, shrinking by 0.5%. The Italian economy managed growth of 0.3%; Spain 0.8%; Portugal 0.2%; Cyprus 0.9% (data is not yet available for Ireland) showing that with the exception of Greece, the nations worst affected by the European Sovereign debt crisis are moving in the right direction, economically.
The French economy expanded by 0.6% in Q1 whilst the German economy grew by 0.7%.
The wider EU produced growth of 0.5% in Q1, matching the figure for Q4 2015.