The eurozone economy hit a record historical drop in January-March in quarterly terms, as the markets expected, due to measures introduced in March to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed on Friday.
Eurozone GDP in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 3.8% compared with the previous quarter and by 3.2% in annual terms, according to a preliminary estimate published on Friday by Eurostat, Reuters reported.
Economists surveyed by Reuters expected a 3.8% decline in GDP quarterly and 3.3% on an annualized basis.
Eurostat reported that the decline in quarterly terms was the highest since the beginning of the calculation of the indicator in 1995. In annual terms, the decline was a record since the third quarter of 2009, when the Eurozone GDP fell by 4.5%.
The sharpest rates of economic contraction were observed in France - by 5.8% quarterly, in Slovakia - 5.4% and in Spain - 5.2%.
Italy's GDP fell 4.7%, and taking into account a 0.1% decline in the previous quarter, the country officially entered the recession phase.
Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, recorded a 2.2% decline in GDP.
Finland became the only country that managed to maintain economic growth - by 0.1%.