GRIM ECONOMIC NEWS IN THE EU

EU GDP shrank by 3.5% in the first quarter of 2020 versus the final quarter of last year when the region's economy was still expanding. Compared with the first quarter of 2019, the fall was 2.7%. The IMF expects EU GDP to fall by 7% this year

The Gross Domestic Product of the eurozone fell by 3.8 per cent in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter. This is the largest drop since the series began in 1995, and a deeper drop than the worst of the financial crisis. The eurozone GDP could fall 15 per cent this year

1. France: France’s GDP dropped 5.8 per cent in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter, the biggest fall since records began in 1949. The French economy contracted by 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2019, which means it has now entered a recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of output contraction.
2. Italy: Italy’s GDP fell 4.7 per cent in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter. It is the largest contraction since records began in 1996. The Italian economy had contracted 0.3 per cent in the final quarter of 2019, which means Italy is also in recession, its fourth in just over a decade 
3. Spain: Spain’s GDP shrank 5.2 per cent in the first quarter, ending more than six years of uninterrupted growth, most of which was well above the pace of the eurozone average.
4. Germany: German GDP contracted 1.9 percent in the first quarter.  Germany’s economy over the whole year will contract by 6.3 per cent and it is expected to shrink by nearly 10 percent in the second quarter. The second-quarter plunge is twice as big as any seen during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and marks the steepest fall since records began in 1970. Unemployment could climb to 5.9 percent  this year.

The region’s economy is expected to fall even further in the second quarter. The second quarter is likely to be even more catastrophic, as it will be even more affected by the lockdown.