According to the report from Eurostat, in the second quarter 2021, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 2.0% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU, compared with the previous quarter. Economists had expected a 1.5% increase in the euro area. In the first quarter of 2021, GDP had declined by 0.3% in the euro area and 0.1% in the EU.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 13.7% in the euro area and by 13.2% in the EU in the second quarter of 2021, after -1.3% in both zones in the previous quarter. Economists had expected a 13.2% increase in the euro area.

Among the Member States for which data are available for the second quarter 2021, Portugal (+4.9%) recorded the highest increase compared to the previous quarter, followed by Austria (+4.3%) and Latvia (+3.7%), while Lithuania (+0.4%) and Czechia (+0.6%) recorded the lowest increase. The year on year growth rates were positive for all countries.