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The euro zone economy contracted by 3.8 percent in the first quarter, compared to the last three months of 2019, as the coronavirus pandemic severely impacted business activity in the region.
Thursday’s preliminary reading is the lowest since records began in 1995, however analysts polled by Reuters were expecting a 3.5% contraction.
The strict lockdown measures in most of the euro area have meant that all non-essential services have been closed for several weeks
Italy was the first European country to implement a nationwide lockdown, starting March 10. Thus, second-quarter data could be much worse as stringent lockdown measures are only just starting to be gradually lifted in some countries.
