Euro area economy grows 1.6 pct in Q3: Eurostat

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The European Union's statistical office announced on Friday the 28-member bloc's economic growth figures for the third quarter of 2018.

The gross domestic product (GDP) for the euro area (EA19) saw a 1.6 percent growth year-on-year, while the EU28 grew by 1.8 percent in the same period, Eurostat said.

The office noted that the annual economic growth rates in EA19 and EU28 were 2.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively, in the previous quarter of this year.

The euro area or EA19 represents member states that use the single currency -- euro -- while EU28 defines all member countries of the bloc.

Eurostat reported that Malta's economy recorded the highest growth rate in July-September this year, rising 7.9 percent.

Malta was followed by Poland and Hungary with 5.7 percent and 5.3 percent growth, respectively.

In the same period, Italy recorded the lowest figure with 0.7 percent annual growth, while Germany and France saw 1.2 percent and 1.4 percent growth in their economies, respectively.

- Quarterly data

Official data also showed that seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.2 percent in the EA19 and 0.3 percent in the EU28 during the third quarter of this year, compared with the April-June period.

"Among member states for which data are available for the third quarter of 2018, Malta [3.6 percent] recorded the highest growth compared with the previous quarter, followed by Romania [1.9 percent], Latvia and Poland [both 1.7 percent]," Eurostat said.

It added that negative growth rates were seen in Lithuania (0.3 percent), Germany and Sweden (both 0.2 percent) and Italy (0.1 percent).

Pointing the GDP components, Eurostat said the household final consumption expenditure rose by 0.1 percent in the euro area and by 0.3 percent in the EU28 on a quarterly basis.

"Exports fell by 0.1 percent in the euro area and increased by 0.3 percent in the EU28," it said. "Imports increased by 0.5 percent in the euro area and 0.3 percent in the EU28"

Meanwhile, Eurostat also announced that the number of persons employed increased by 1.3 percent in the EA19 and 1.2 percent in the EU28 in the third quarter of 2018, versus the same period last year.