The European Union's GDP for the first quarter of 2020 has dropped by a record 2.6 percent compared to the same indicator a year ago, the EU statistical office, Eurostat, said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2020) The European Union's GDP for the first quarter of 2020 has dropped by a record 2.6 percent compared to the same indicator a year ago, the EU statistical office, Eurostat, said on Friday.
In April, a preliminary estimate predicted a 2.7 percent year-on-year decrease.
"Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 3.2% in the euro area and by 2.6% in the EU in the first quarter of 2020, after +1.0% and +1.3% respectively in the previous quarter. These were the sharpest declines since the third quarter of 2009 (-4.5% for euro area and -4.4% for EU)," Eurostat said in a statement.
The EU GDP decrease compared to the previous quarter is 3.3 percent.
The current downturn is a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted economic activity across Europe and the entire world.
