European economy grows 2%, ending double-dip recession

Europe's economy rebounded into growth in the second quarter, official figures showed Friday, but lagged pre-pandemic levels and trailed the faster recoveries in the US and China, with the delta variant continuing to cast a shadow of uncertainty over the upturn.

Gross domestic product grew 2.0% in the April-June quarter over the quarter before, official figures from the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat showed. That compared to a drop of 0.3% in the first quarter as the 19 countries that use the euro endured a double-dip recession.

The growth figure was stronger than the 1.5% foreseen by market analysts.