EU economy grows 2.1 pct in Q2: Eurostat

The European Union's statistical office announced on Friday the 28-member bloc's economic growth figures for the second quarter of 2018.

"Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 2.1 percent in both the euro area and the EU28 in the second quarter of 2018," Eurostat said.

The office noted that the annual economic growth rates in EA19 and EU28 were 2.4 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, in the first quarter of this year.

The eurozone or EA19 represents member states that use the single currency -- euro -- while EU28 defines all member countries of the bloc.

Eurostat reported that Malta's economy recorded the top performance in April-June this year with a 5.7 percent year-on-year growth.

Malta was followed by Poland and Hungary with 5 percent and 4.6 percent growth, respectively.

In the same period, Denmark recorded the lowest figure with 0.6 percent annual growth, while Italy and the U.K. saw 1.2 percent and 1.3 percent growth in their economies, respectively.

Official data also showed that seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.4 percent in both the EA19 and the EU28 during the second quarter of this year, compared with the January-March period.

"Among member states for which data are available for the second quarter of 2018, Malta (1.9 percent), Estonia and Romania (both 1.4 percent) recorded the highest growth compared with the previous quarter," Eurostat said.

It noted that the lowest growth was observed in Denmark, Greece, France, and Italy with 0.2 percent growth in all four countries.

Pointing the GDP components, Eurostat said household final consumption expenditure rose by 0.2 percent in the euro area and by 0.3 percent in the EU28 on a quarterly basis.

"Exports increased by 0.6 percent in the euro area and by 0.2 percent in the EU28," it said. "Imports increased by 1.1 percent in the euro area and by 0.9 percent in the EU28."