Eurozone economy grows twice as fast as UK's for second straight quarter

The euro zone economy confirmed a robust expansion in the second quarter of the year, growing twice as much as Britain for the second consecutive quarter, preliminary estimates released by the European Union's statistics agency showed on Tuesday.

The reading confirmed the trend begun this year as the 19-country currency bloc consolidates its recovery while Britain starts to feel the negative impact of its decision to quit the European Union.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro zone increased 0.6 per cent on the quarter, after a slightly downwardly revised 0.5 per cent rise in the first quarter, Eurostat's data showed.

In the March-June period, Britain's economic output grew by 0.3 per cent on the quarter, edging up from a sluggish rate of 0.2 per cent in the first three months of the year.

Britain's slowdown comes after the country showed robust growth last year, outgrowing the euro zone in the last three quarters.

The loss of pace coincides with the beginning of divorce talks with the EU in March and increased prospects of no access to the EU market after Brexit for Britain-based companies.

Meanwhile, the euro zone economy has picked up speed, bolstered by higher business optimism, strong domestic consumption and decreasing unemployment, which in June reached its lowest level since 2009.
READ MORE