Collapsing exports and dwindling business investment pushed the euro zone economy into the deepest contraction in the bloc's 10-year history, official EU data shows today.
After pulling back only 0.2% in the third quarter, the euro zone economy shrank by 1.5% in the final three months of 2008 from the level the previous quarter, the Eurostat data agency said, confirming a first estimate.
The dramatic deterioration was driven by a 7.3% drop in exports in the fourth quarter while business investment fell by 2.7% in the face of a global economic and financial crisis.
On a 12-month basis, the euro zone economy contracted by 1.3% in the final quarter last year after growing 0.6% in the third quarter, Eurostat said.
However, for the whole of 2008, including before the financial crisis' dramatic turn for the worse in September, the euro zone economy eked out growth of 0.8%, down sharply from the 2.6% recorded in 2007.
The Eurostat data also showed that the 27-nation EU economy shrank by 1.5% in the last three quarters of 2008, bringing the slump over 12 months to 1.3%.
