EU says European Union and euro area will shrink by 4 percent this year

September 2nd, 2009 Spending lifts euro economy in 2QBRUSSELS — Higher household spending supported the euro zone economy in the second quarter, the European Union statistics agency said Wednesday, in another upbeat sign for growth prospects. Eurostat confirmed an earlier estimate that the economy of the 16 nations that use the euro shrank by just 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter, far less severely than officials had forecast, due to growth in the two biggest euro nations Germany and France.

August 12th, 2009 BRUSSELS - Industrial production in the 16-nation euro area posted a monthly decline of 0.6 percent in June and plummeted by 17 percent when compared to the same month last year, data released Wednesday showed. The European Union statistics office (Eurostat) said month-on-month output in the 27-member European Union also fell, by 0.2 percent.

August 5th, 2009 Euro retail sales fall 0.2 pct in JuneBRUSSELS — The European Union says retail sales in the 16 nations that use the euro fell 0.2 percent in June from a month earlier, showing that consumers are wary of spending as unemployment hits a 10-year high. Shoppers cut back spending both on daily essentials such as food, drink and tobacco and on non-food items such as clothing, electronics and medicines.

July 30th, 2009 IMF says euro governments must clean up banksLONDON — The 16 countries that use the euro are unlikely to start growing again until some time in 2010 and must do more to shore up their banks if they want to keep the downturn from lasting longer, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday. In its latest update for Europe, the IMF's staff forecast that the euro zone will shrink by 4.8 percent this year alone and by 0.3 percent in 2010 despite the anticipated recovery some time in the year.

July 15th, 2009 EU: plunging oil price behind June disinflationBRUSSELS — Plunging oil prices sent euro-zone inflation negative in June, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said Wednesday. It confirmed a June 30 estimate that the 16 nations that use the euro saw prices contract 0.1 percent in the year to June — the first month the region has experienced disinflation since the euro launched in 1999.

June 2nd, 2009 European unemployment continues to surgeBRUSSELS — The jobless rate in the 16 nations that use the euro surged to 9.2 percent in April, the highest level in almost a decade, the EU statistics office says. The euro-zone jobless rate has reached its highest level since Sep.

May 13th, 2009 Euro zone industrial output shrinks 2 pct in MarchLONDON — The 16 countries that use the euro currency saw industrial output shrink by 2 percent in March from the previous month, pushing the annual rate of decline to a new record, the EU's statistics office said Wednesday. The drop was far bigger than expected.

May 6th, 2009 Euro-zone retail sales slide by record 4.2 pctBRUSSELS — Retail trade in the 16 nations that use the euro slid by a record 4.2 percent in March from a year ago, the EU statistics agency said Wednesday, as recession-hit shoppers cut back over worries on rising unemployment. The European Union said some 8.5 million jobs will disappear this year and next year as the economies of both the euro area and the 27-nation European Union shrink by 4 percent.

May 4th, 2009 EU says euro area to shrink by 4 percent this yearBRUSSELS — Europe is suffering "a deep and widespread recession," the EU said Monday, estimating that unemployment will rise sharply over the next two years and that EU economies will shrink twice as much as it predicted only a few months ago. The European Commission said both the 27-nation EU and the 16 countries that use the euro currency will shrink by 4 percent this year, more than double its January estimates, when it forecast a 1.8 percent contraction for the EU and a 1.9 percent decline for the euro-zone area.

May 4th, 2009 BRUSSELS - The European Union is facing a recession until at least 2011, with the bloc's economy set to contract by 0.1 percent in 2010 following a worse-than-expected slump of 4 percent in 2009, the EU's executive said Monday. The 16 countries which use the single currency, the euro, are also expected to see growth contract by 4 percent in 2009 and 0.1 percent in 2010, the European Commission said.

April 29th, 2009 European economic confidence bounces backBRUSSELS — European business and consumer confidence bounced back in April for the first time in nearly two years, the European Commission said Wednesday. The EU executive said its monthly survey of companies and shoppers across the European Union and in the 16 countries that share the euro showed more optimism for the first time since May 2007, rising from record lows.

April 23rd, 2009 Euro nearly unchanged against dollar at $1.3024FRANKFURT — The euro was nearly flat against the dollar Thursday despite news that Germany's economy, Europe's largest, was expected to shrink more than 5 percent this year. The 16-nation euro bought $1.3024 in European morning trading, slightly up from the $1.3017 late Wednesday in New York.

April 22nd, 2009 IMF says euro zone to shrink 4.2 percent this yearLONDON — The International Monetary Fund is warning that the countries using the euro currency will see their economies shrink 4.2 percent this year. It says next year will be tough as well but that the economy should start bouncing back sometime in 2010.

February 12th, 2009 BRUSSELS - The economies of the European Union (EU) and the eurozone both posted worse-than-expected quarterly drops of 1.5 percent in the final three months of 2008, the EU's statistics office, Eurostat, said Friday. According to Eurostat's preliminary estimate, fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) also shrank year-on-year by a seasonally-adjusted 1.2 percent in the 15-member eurozone and by 1.1 percent in the 27-member EU.

January 18th, 2009 BRUSSELS - Europe faces a deep and broad recession this year, the European Commission predicted Monday, with economic activity in the 16-strong eurozone set to shrink by 1.9 percent as a result of the world's worst economic crisis since World War II. 'The economic horizon has now significantly darkened as the European Union economy is hit by the financial crisis that deepened during the autumn and is taking a toll on business and consumer confidence,' the European Union's executive arm said in presenting its latest economic forecasts.