Eurostat reveals Q1 Eurozone growth figures

Year-on-year, the pace of expansion was 2.1pc, unchanged from the annual rate recorded in Q4 2007. Growth in Germany was 2.6pc year-on-year, up from 1.8pc at the end of 2007. French GDP grew at 2pc, while Italian growth was just 0.3pc, year-on-year. Just over a third of the growth was accounted for by investment, with a further third coming from consumer expenditure, which appears to be holding up relatively well. Jörg Radeke, economist at the cebr, said: "Although downwardly revised, today's gross domestic product data confirm the picture of a robust economic climate in the euro...