Why Read: Because in our fiat currency world continuing GDP growth is of huge importance.
Featured Article: An article earlier this week reported GDP growth for both the 17 country Eurozone and the 27 country European Union was 0.0% in Q1 2012. The European Union includes the 17 Eurozone countries.
An accompanying PDF breaks that GDP growth down by country. That breakdown reports that in Q1 2012 five of the thirteen Eurozone countries for which data is available, and four of the seven non-Eurozone European Union countries for which data is available suffered negative growth, as shown in the following table. The table also shows reported Q1 2012/Q1 2011 comparisons:
| Q1 2012/Q4 2011 % chg | 2012/2011 Q1 % chg | |
| Eurozone | ||
| Cyprus | -0.3 | -1.4 |
| Greece | n/a | -6.2 |
| Italy | -0.8 | -1.3 |
| Netherlands | -0.2 | -1.3 |
| Portugal | -0.1 | -2.2 |
| Spain | -0.3 | -0.4 |
| European Union | ||
| Czech Republic | -1.0 | -1.0 |
| Hungary | -1.3 | -1.5 |
| Romania | -0.1 | +0.8 |
| United Kingdom | -0.2 | 0.0 |
Q1 2012 GDP currently is unavailable for four of the seventeen Eurozone countries, and for three of the ten EU countries.
Commentary: The negative growth numbers set out in the following table have to be significant. Economic recover depends on real (inflation excluded) GDP growth. The Q1 2012 reported GDP results are indicative of likely continuing near-term economic deterioration, particularly for those countries experiencing negative Q1 2012 GDP numbers. A cynic might consider whether the overall Eurozone and EU Q1 0.0% GDP growth rates were somehow contrived, although one would like to think that is not so.
Eurozone and EU country specific GDP is something to follow closely in the coming weeks, months and quarters.
Eurozone GDP Growth: 0.0%
Source: Business Insider, Joe Weisenthal, May 15, 2012
Reading time: 5 minutes, thinking time longer
