Eurozone economy enjoys its best year in a decade

BRUSSELS – Official figures are confirming that the eurozone economy in 2017 enjoyed its best year in a decade.

Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, said Tuesday that the eurozone expanded by 0.6 percent in the final quarter of the year from the three months before. That means that for the whole of 2017, the eurozone economy grew by 2.5 percent, its highest since 2007, when it expanded by 3 percent.

The eurozone economy, which for years was mired in a series of financial crises, is one of the brightest spots in the global economy. The region has benefited from waning fears about a populist backlash, the European Central Bank's massive stimulus program and rising confidence about the long-term future of the euro currency.