According to the second estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, during the fourth quarter of 2012 gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 0.6 percent in the euro area and by 0.5 percent in the EU-27, compared to the previous quarter. In the third quarter of the year, GDP had decreased 0.1 percent in the euro area and increased by 0.1 percent in the EU-27.
Compared with the same quarter of 2011, in the fourth quarter of 2012 seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 0.9 percent in the euro area and by 0.6 percent in the EU-27, after respectively falling 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent year on year in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter last year GDP remained stable both in the United States and in Japan compared to the third quarter.