Investing.com – Gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro zone rose less than expected in the first quarter, adding to global growth worries, according to official data released on Friday.
In a report, Eurostat said that GDP rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.5%, from 0.3% in the preceding quarter.
That was below the initial reading of 0.6% released on April 29 and consensus that was expecting no change.
Year-on-year, GDP in the single currency bloc rose 1.5%, also below the initial estimate, the fourth quarter reading and analyst forecasts for growth of 1.6%.
The euro zone data was released after Germany, the engine of its economy, surprised earlier on Friday with growth of 0.7% in the first three months of the year.
Immediately after the euro zone data, EUR/USD was unchanged at 1.1353, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7874 from 0.7877 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.53%, Germany's DAX fell 0.49%, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.57%, while London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.59%.