Romania – the fifth EU economic contraction in Q1

According to Eurostat, euro zone’s GDP recorded a modest 0.2% increase in the first 2010 quarter, similar to the average EU states’ growth. According to the data published by Eurostat on Friday, the US economy recorded a 0.8% growth over the first three months of the year, while Japan recorded a 1.2% increase in GDP.

As for Romania, The Eurostat data indicate that the South-East European state recorded the fifth economic contraction in the EU, namely – 0.3%. Bigger contractions were seen in Lithuania (-3.9%), Estonia (-2.3%), Greece (-0.8%) and Slovenia (-0.5%).

In contrast with Q1 2009, the first 2010 quarter saw both the euro zone and the EU economies returning to positive territory, recording a GDP increase of 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. The US experienced a more significant growth, namely 2.5%, and the Japanese economy saw a 4.2% increase, compared to the same time last year.