Eurozone Economic Outlook: Historic collapse of Eurozone economy (July 2020)

The Italian statistical office Istat could not participate in this publication of the EZEO.

The lockdown measures in the euro area from mid-March onwards have forced many companies to slow abruptly down their activity. This caused GDP to fall remarkably in Q1 2020 by 3.6%. The greatest negative contribution came from private consumption. Households reduced their activities in response to rising Covid-19 infection numbers and following governments’ orders or advices on staying at home and respecting social distancing rules. Also, numerous shops were closed and many services were not available. Further, firms hold back their investments due to liquidity issues and uncertainty on future developments. In addition, external demand was weak and caused exports to plunge. Italy, France and Spain were hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic and introduced strong lockdown measures. As a consequence, economic activity went down by 5.3% (Italy), 5.3% (France) and 5.2% (Spain). Germany was affected less severely with GDP contracting by 2.2%.