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November 13, 2020EU AND EURO AREA GDP, Q3 2020 [FLASH] 
In the flash estimate, Eurostat reports that real GDP growth increased 55.2% (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) in the European Union and 60.5% in the Euro Area in the third quarter of 2020. These were the fastest increases observed since the time series started in 1995. The preliminary flash estimates were 57.8% in European Union and 61.1% in the Euro Area. In the second quarter, activity was down 38.5% in the EU27 and 39.5% in the EA19 at annualized rates.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted real GDP was down 4.4% in the Euro Area and 4.3% in the EU27 in Q3 2020. This represents a partial recovery from year-over-year declines of 14.8% in the Euro Area and 13.9% in the EU27 in Q2 2020.
A seasonally adjusted annualized rate shows what the percent change would be if the quarterly rate was compounded for four quarters. Reporting annualized rates facilitates comparability between annual and quarterly growth, but can exaggerate change when series are volatile. The COVID-19 shocks do not indicate an expansion of EU GDP by 55.2% in Q3. It would take four quarters of compounded growth at the same pace as reported in Q3 to increase EU GDP by 55.2%. Real GDP in Q3 increased 11.6% in the EU27 and 12.6% in the EA19 compared to the previous quarter.
Source: Eurostat
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