France and Germany resume growth, exit recession

August 13, 2009

The GDP of both France and Germany grew by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2009, ending a year-long recession in both countries.

However, for all sixteen countries in the eurozone, the sum of all the goods and services produced dropped by 0.1% in the quarter to June. The figures are an improvement over the previous quarter, and better than numbers predicted by most economists.

"The recession has ended, and it has ended sooner than we all thought. We expect to see growth of 1% in the third quarter, which is very strong for Germany," said UniCredit's Andreas Rees. "[...] I wouldn't rule out the chance of even better growth."

Stock markets rose, with the British FTSE 100 index rising 1.3%. The main French and German indices also posted gains of over one percent by noon.