EU GDP Shows Record 12.1% Slump in Q2 2020: Reports

Date: 31 July 2020 - 22:11

News ID: ۸۱۲۴۸

BRUSSELS (Dispatches) - Eurozone GDP fell by 12.1% in the second quarter of the year, its biggest single quarter drop in history as the coronavirus’ true impact on the continent’s economy emerges.
GDP fell by 12.1% in the euro area and 11.9% in the wider EU in the second quarter of the year, data by Eurostat showed Friday.
This is significantly higher than Q1 contraction figures, where GDP fell by 3.6% in the euro area and by 3.2% in the EU.
GDP levels were also 15% lower in the euro area compared to Q2 2019, and 14.4% lower in the EU.
Countries that were most hard hit were Spain, which suffered an 18.5% decline in Q2 compared to the previous quarter, and Portugal which contracted by 14.1%.
Lithuania recorded the lowest decline of 5.1% compared to the previous quarter.
Spain was one of the countries to be first severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, and was one of the first economies to be placed under a lockdown. Spain had a more stringent lockdown compared to other European counterparts, meaning even lower economic activity.
Commenting on the latest figures, las Akincilar, heads of trading at the online trading platform, INFINOX, said: "The fallout from the virus now poses a major challenge not just to the healthcare systems and the economies of the EU member states - it’s also a threat to the bloc’s integrity.”