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| France and Germany Lead Euro Zone to Higher Growth | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| PARIS — France and Germany posted stronger than expected growth Friday for the last three months of 2013, a welcome surprise for the Continent’s economy as it struggles to break free from a long period of lethargy. | PARIS — France and Germany posted stronger than expected growth Friday for the last three months of 2013, a welcome surprise for the Continent’s economy as it struggles to break free from a long period of lethargy. |
| Overall, the economy of the countries sharing the euro zone currency grew more than expected, as well, the European Union’s Statistics Office reported on Friday. The economy of the 17 euro zone countries in the last quarter rose 0.3 percent in the three months to December against the previous three months, after a 0.1 percent rise in the third quarter. | |
| France’s gross domestic product expanded by 0.3 percent in the period from October through December compared with the previous three months, according to data released by Insee, the national statistical agency in Paris. It cited a year-end burst of household spending and business investment for the extra spurt. | France’s gross domestic product expanded by 0.3 percent in the period from October through December compared with the previous three months, according to data released by Insee, the national statistical agency in Paris. It cited a year-end burst of household spending and business investment for the extra spurt. |
| Germany’s gross domestic product grew by 0.4 percent from the previous quarter, the Federal Statistics Office reported from Wiesbaden, citing stronger foreign trade. That improved upon the 0.3 percent growth recorded in the July-September period and was better than the 0.3 percent market consensus, and it works out to a roughly 1.6 percent annual rate of growth. | Germany’s gross domestic product grew by 0.4 percent from the previous quarter, the Federal Statistics Office reported from Wiesbaden, citing stronger foreign trade. That improved upon the 0.3 percent growth recorded in the July-September period and was better than the 0.3 percent market consensus, and it works out to a roughly 1.6 percent annual rate of growth. |
| European stocks were little changed after the report, while the euro ticked up 0.1 percent to $1.3699. | European stocks were little changed after the report, while the euro ticked up 0.1 percent to $1.3699. |
| The French fourth-quarter figure, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of roughly 1.2 percent, was slightly better than the 0.2 percent economists had been expecting. Insee also revised the figure for the third quarter to show that the French economy was stagnant during that time, which was an improvement from the previously reported contraction of 0.1 percent. | The French fourth-quarter figure, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of roughly 1.2 percent, was slightly better than the 0.2 percent economists had been expecting. Insee also revised the figure for the third quarter to show that the French economy was stagnant during that time, which was an improvement from the previously reported contraction of 0.1 percent. |
| “All in all, despite only slightly positive numbers, we think this is a strong reading for the French economy,” economists at Barclays wrote in a research note. With past revisions having pushed up G.D.P. in all quarters, they wrote, “this strongly contradicts the view of France decoupling and contracting.” | “All in all, despite only slightly positive numbers, we think this is a strong reading for the French economy,” economists at Barclays wrote in a research note. With past revisions having pushed up G.D.P. in all quarters, they wrote, “this strongly contradicts the view of France decoupling and contracting.” |