Eurostat announced Eurozone's leading gross domestic product (GDP) data today at 12:00 (GMT+2). According to the data released, the Eurozone economy fell 0.7 percent in the last quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter, and it also shrank 5.1 percent compared to the same period last year.



Coronavirus continues to harm both people and economies. After the pandemic started to increase its effectiveness in all countries in March 2020, Eurozone became the center of the pandemic.
The second quarter of 2020, referred to as the first wave of the pandemic, led to a historic contraction in the Eurozone economy due to various measures taken. During this period, in order to minimize the economic effects, the European Central Bank (ECB) activated the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP), while the financial authorities of the European Union member states applied major budget expansion. But the region's economy could not avoid shrinking by 11.8 percent in the quarter. The economy, which reopened in  summer, grew by 12.7 percent and indicated a V-type recovery thanks to the significant support from accumulated demand.

By the last quarter of the year, in addition to changing the seasonal process, the out-of-control Coronavirus outbreak brought with it a second wave. Due to the rising number of cases, EU countries implemented restrictions, which are different than those in the first wave. These decisions led to the decline of the service sector, although they did not affect the potential of manufacturers. In addition, the contraction of gross domestic product in the Eurozone in the fourth quarter of 2020 became inevitable. Especially on quarterly basis, Austria declined the most with 4.3 percent. Italy and France followed Austria with 2.0 percent and 1.3 percent. Also, all Member States shrank on annual basis.

As the Coronavirus outbreak increased its efficiency with its new strains, leaving the second wave behind, developed and developing countries decided to expand the restriction measures. Anticipating this situation, auhotiries took steps to support the path that the economy has drawn so far by increasing the steps of expansion. However, new strains of Covid-19 and the measures that France and Germany took, and the impact of the government crisis in Italy may negatively affect the growth to be announced next month. The ongoing vaccination campaign against the pandemic may prepare the setting for a moderate growth in the first quarter of the year in current financial conditions.