What lessons can we draw from the eurozone’s coronavirus recession?

What should we make of data showing that activity in the bloc fell by 12 per cent in the second quarter? Does it tell us anything we didn’t know already? And is the outlook for Europe better than elsewhere? Ben Chu reports

Spain’s economy fell by almost a quarter in the first half of 2020 (AFP/Getty)

More information is rolling in that shows the colossal economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic and the public health measures imposed by governments around the world to contain the disease.

On Thursday Eurostat estimated that the eurozone economy contracted by 12 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, easily the biggest quarterly decline since the single currency zone came into existence. For the countries that make up the bloc it was probably the biggest economic slump since the 1930s.

But what should we make of this latest data? Does it tell us anything we didn’t know already?