PARIS/MADRID, July 28 (Reuters) - The French and Spanish economies grew at a sustained pace in the second quarter on the back of stronger exports and tourism, statistics agencies said on Friday, auguring a possible euro zone rebound.
France's gross domestic product expanded in the second quarter a faster-than-expected 0.5% from the preceding quarter, while the Spanish economy grew 0.4%, according to data from INSEE and INE, as the French and Spanish statistics agencies are respectively known.
The data from French and Spanish economies, respectively the euro zone's second- and fourth-largest, bode well after the euro zone's growth was 0% in the first quarter of this year.
The French economy sped up from a revised 0.1% in the first quarter, INSEE said in its quarterly GDP report.
Unlike France and Spain, Austria, a much smaller economy, shrank 0.4% in the second quarter due to a slowdown in construction and industry.
Persons:
auguring, Bruno Le Maire, bode, Nadia Calvino, Tassilo Hummel, Inti, Dominique Vidalon, Christopher Cushing, Nick Macfie
Organizations:
PARIS, Finance, RTL, Thomson
Locations:
MADRID, Spanish, Spain, France, Austria