Submitted by CARPE DIEM

FRANKFURT–The euro zone grew 0.76% during the first quarter of this year, the statistics agency Eurostat reported. The region’s numbers, which represent quarter-on-quarter growth, also got a surprising lift from France, where the economy grew 0.64% in the first quarter, and from the German economy, which grew 1.53% in the first quarter of this year.

The figures, which were about double what most economists expected, suggested that the European economy was demonstrating a resilience that seemed unlikely as recently as last autumn.

Note: The 0.76% quarter-to-quarter growth (3.04% annualized) for the EU-15 is the strongest economic growth there since the fourth quarter of 2006, and is significantly above the EU-15’s average growth of 0.50%.

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