Eurozone economic growth slowing

The latest growth figures are disappointing

Eurozone economic growth slowed more than expected in the three months to the end of September, according to the latest official figures.

Growth during the third quarter fell to 0.5%, from 0.9% during the previous three months, with stagnation in France offsetting strong figures from Germany.

On an annual basis, growth across the 12 eurozone nations fell to 2.6% in the third quarter, from 2.7% in the second.

While Germany saw 0.6% third quarter growth, France is expected to be flat.

Wider EU slowdown

The eurozone is made up of the 12 countries which use the euro as their currency and have their interest rates set by the European Central Bank.

As well as France and Germany, it includes Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Greece, Finland, Austria, and the Republic of Ireland.

Spain's growth was particularly impressive during the third quarter, expanding 0.9% to reach a five-year high.

Meanwhile, growth across the entire 25-nation European Union also slowed in the third quarter.

It dropped to an annual rate of 2.8% from 2.9% in the previous quarter, while on a quarterly basis it eased to 0.6% from 0.9%.

Despite the more than expected dip in third quarter growth, economists said the figures remained healthy.

Analysts said the European Central Bank was still widely expected to increase eurozone interest rates by one quarter of a percentage point to 3.5% in December.

"Overall, the eurozone's growth momentum has slowed in the third quarter, but was still at a respectable rate," said HSBC economist Astrid Schilo.