Forexpros – The euro zone’s economy contracted less than feared in the last three months of 2011, official preliminary data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said that the euro zone’s gross domestic product shrank by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% during the fourth quarter, slightly better than expectations for a contraction of 0.4%.
The euro zone’s economy grew by 0.1% in the preceding quarter.
Year-on-year, euro zone GDP grew at an annualized rate of 0.7% in the fourth quarter, in line with forecasts, after expanding at a rate of 1.3% in the previous quarter.
Following the release of that data, the euro extended gains against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.31% to hit 1.3176.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained broadly higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.95%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 1%, Germany’s DAX rallied 1.2%, while London’s FTSE 100 added 0.3%.
Forexpros
