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Euro zone's economy grows 0.3 percent in third quarter, up 1.6 percent on last year

Due to the surge in e-commerce, industrial and storage properties trade at about the value of their underlying assets. Malls and shopping centers are trading at double-digit discounts to their NAVs.
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The euro zone's economy grew in the third quarter, showing a 0.3 percent in the region's gross domestic product (GDP) on the previous three months and up 1.6 percent year on year.

The figures were boosted by a rebound in smaller countries, including Portugal, which saw its fastest growth pace since 2013.

"GDP growth in the euro area was stable last quarter, and while this report does not carry any details we are confident that the key story was a rebound in domestic demand, which offset a reversal in net exports," said Claus Vistesen, chief euro zone economist at Pantheon Macro in a note.

"Across countries, GDP growth slowed disappointingly in Germany, but growth rebounded in France, and also snapped back in Italy," he added.

France posted a 0.2 percent GDP quarter-on-quarter increase and the Italian economy went up 0.3 percent in the same period.


Last week, the European Commission cut its GDP forecasts for the euro area on increased political uncertainty and weaker global trade. The EU expects the currency bloc to grow 1.7 percent this year and 1.5 percent in 2017, after climbing 2 percent in 2015.

"While we will have to wait until 6 December for the expenditure breakdown, today's release will include the first official estimates from Germany and Italy," Emily Nicol, economist at Daiwa Europe, said in a note.

"Admittedly, the German report this morning was disappointing, with growth moderating more than expected in Q3 to a four-quarter low of 0.2 percent Q/Q (quarter on quarter)," she added.

According to the Centre for European Economic Research in Germany, confidence on the resilience of the largest euro economy has slipped in October.

The ZEW index dropped to 58.8 from a nine-month high of 59.5 registered in September.

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