According to a preliminary flash estimate published by Eurostat, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.4% in the euro area (EA19) and by 0.5% in the EU28 during the first quarter of 2019, compared with the previous quarter. Economists had expected a 1.1% increase in the euro area. In the fourth quarter of 2018, GDP had grown by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU28.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2019, as in the previous quarter. Economists had expected a 0.3% increase in the euro area