According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, during the second quarter of 2012 gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 0.2 percent both in the euro area and in the EU-27, compared to the previous quarter. In the first quarter of 2012, the quarter-on-quarter GDP growth rates had remained stable in both zones.
Compared with the same quarter of 2011, in the second quarter of 2012 seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.4 percent in the euro area and by 0.2 in the EU-27, after remaining stable in the euro area and increasing by 0.1 percent in the EU-27 respectively in the previous quarter.
Eurostat also estimated that during the second quarter of 2012 GDP in the United States increased by 0.4 percent compared with the previous quarter, after a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.5 percent in the first quarter, and rose by 2.2 percent year on year, after a 2.4 percent year-on-year increase recorded in the previous quarter. On the other hand, Japan's GDP in the second quarter rose by 0.3 percent compared to the previous quarter, after a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1.3 percent in the first quarter, and rose by 3.6 percent year on year, after a 2.8 percent year-on-year increase recorded in the previous quarter.