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World

Eurozone economy records highest growth in nearly two years but rise may well disappoint

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, right, speaks with Cypriot Finance Minister Harris Georgiades during a round table meeting of the eurogroup finance ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday, May 11, 2015. Hopes for a deal between Greece and its European creditors at a key meeting Monday are slim, weighing on the region's stock markets as the country struggles to make upcoming debt repayments. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) (The Associated Press)

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    A shop owner hangs up a hammock at Monastiraki tourist district in Athens, early Wednesday, May 13, 2015. Greece, which is in the midst of protracted bailout talks with creditors, is now officially in recession again according to data released Wednesday, less than a year after it emerged from a six-year depression. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) (The Associated Press)

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    An elderly man walks among shuttered shops at a shopping district of Monastiraki, central Athens , early Wednesday, May 13, 2015. Greece, which is in the midst of protracted bailout talks with creditors, is now officially in recession again according to data released Wednesday, less than a year after it emerged from a six-year depression. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) (The Associated Press)

BRUSSELS – Official figures show the eurozone economy grew at its fastest rate for nearly two years during the first three months of 2015.

The 0.4 percent increase in economic output was up from the 0.3 percent recorded in the previous quarter and was in line with expectations. It matches the rate recorded when it emerged from its longest-ever recession in the second quarter of 2013.

Some in the 19-country eurozone will have hoped for even stronger growth as the currency union has enjoyed tail winds such as a fall in oil prices and the euro, as well as the launch of the European Central Bank's 1.1 trillion-euro ($1.2 trillion) monetary stimulus.

The overall figure also masks disappointments such as Greece's return to recession.