According to the “Figaro” reported on June 8, Eurostat estimated that the eurozone GDP fell by 0.1% in the first quarter, which is another recession after the decline of 0.1% in the fourth quarter of last year, “the conditions for a technical recession have been met.”
The recession in the euro zone is mainly due to the loss of momentum in Germany. Germany has underperformed France and Italy in terms of domestic demand, underperformed Spain and Italy in terms of exports, and its market share in China has also declined. In addition, Ireland’s GDP also experienced a sharp decline of 4.6%. In southern Europe, Portugal, Spain and Italy posted growth of 1.6%, 0.5% and 0.6% respectively in the first quarter. France grew by 0.2%, compared with 0.1% expected in the second quarter.
The report pointed out that the main reasons for the weakness of the European economy are: high inflationary pressure, declining purchasing power to restrain consumption, and tightening lending conditions to reduce the credit demand of households and enterprises. The dismal economic conditions are expected to continue.