Investing.com – Gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro zone rose as expected in the third quarter, according to preliminary official data released on Monday.
In a report, Eurostat said that GDP rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3%, compared to growth of the same amount in the preceding quarter and bang in line with consensus forecasts.
Year-on-year, GDP in the single currency bloc rose 1.6% in the third quarter, matching both the expansion in the April to June period and the forecast.
The euro zone data was released after Germany, the engine of its economy, surprised earlier on Monday with retail sales falling at their fastest pace in two years.
Specifically, they slid 1.4% in September, missing expectations for a 0.2% increase.
Immediately after the release of the GDP data, that was accompanied by inflation figures for the region, EUR/USD was unchanged at 1.0953, while EUR/GBP was at 0.8997 from 0.9002 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were trading lower. The Euro Stoxx 50 dropped 0.43%, Germany's DAX fell 0.25%, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.63%, while London’s FTSE 100 traded down 0.30%.