The German and French economies unexpectedly bounced back in the second quarter, raising hopes that the worst of the economic crisis is coming to an end in the eurozone.

Both grew 0.3% in the three months to the end of June, figures showed yesterday.

The figures confounded economists who had predicted contractions in each country again after German gross domestic product plummeted 3.5% and French GDP shrank by 1.3% in the first quarter.

As a result, GDP in the 16-nation currency bloc fell only 0.1% in the last quarter, the European statistics office said, cheering economists who had expected a decline of 0.5 per cent after a drop of 2.5% in the previous quarter.

Financial Times