Forex Pros – The euro zone’s economy grew less-than-expected during the fourth quarter of 2010, preliminary official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, said the euro zone’s gross domestic product increased by a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.3% in the fourth quarter, after rising by 0.3% in the preceding quarter.
Analysts had expected euro zone gross domestic product to rise by 0.4% in the fourth quarter.
According to the data, the euro zone’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.0% in the fourth quarter, after rising by 1.9% in the preceding quarter, falling short of analyst expectations for growth of 2.1%.
Following the release of the data, the euro was up against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD gaining 0.33% to hit 1.3533.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.52%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.42%, Germany’s DAX added 0.24%, while the FTSE 100 was up 0.13%.
ForexPros.com
