BRUSSELS, July 14: The eurozone economy grew 0.5 per cent in the first three months of this year from the final quarter of 2004 amid wide divergences between individual countries, a second estimate released on Thursday by the EU’s Eurostat statistics arm showed. The rate, which was unchanged from a first estimate, marked an improvement from the 0.2pc growth posted by the 12-state eurozone in the fourth quarter of 2004.

The Eurostat growth figures showed that across the full 25-state EU, growth was also 0.5pc in the first quarter following 0.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2004.

On a 12-month basis, the eurozone economy grew 1.4 per cent in the first quarter and that of the entire EU 1.6 per cent.

Separately, the European Union’s executive commission forecast that the eurozone was on track for growth in a range of 0.1-0.5 per cent in the second quarter and 0.2-0.6pc in the third quarter.

EU economic affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia said earlier this week that eurozone growth was likely to pick up over the course of the year after a weak second quarter.

A breakdown of the data confirmed a recent trend of diverging growth rates among eurozone economies.

Germany, the eurozone’s biggest economy, saw firm quarterly growth of 1.0 per cent at the beginning of the year, which however was due primarily to a pick-up in exports while domestic demand remained weak.—AFP