Eurostat has released the second estimates which forecast a decrease of the GDP in the euro area and in the EU for the fourth quarter of 2011. In particular, euro area and EU GDP were down by 0.3% according to the estimations. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2010, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.7% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, has released its second flash estimated for the fourth quarter of 2011. According to this estimation, GDP decreased by 0.3% in both the euro area and the EU during the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with the previous quarter. In the third quarter of 2011, growth rates were +0.1% in the euro area and +0.3% in the EU27. In the first quarter of 2011, growth rates were +0.8% in the euro area and +0.7% in the EU, as it was published in September 2011.

With regard to other GDP data in the world, in the United States GDP increased by 0.7% during the fourth quarter of 2011, after +0.5% in the third quarter of 2011. In Japan GDP dropped by 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2011, after +1.7% in the previous quarter.

These data are seasonally adjusted (and in most cases also corrected for working days) according to national adjustment procedures. Seasonally adjusted European aggregates are calculated from seasonally adjusted Member States’ data (indirect seasonal adjustment). Compared with the fourth quarter of 2010, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.7% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU, after +1.3% and +1.4% respectively in the previous quarter.