The euro zone economy likewise continued to improve in the third quarter of 2009/2010, but is recovering only very slowly from the deep recession. Economic experts from Goldman Sachs and Commerzbank estimate that the euro zone saw year-on-year economic growth in the 1.2 to 1.5 percent range through the third quarter of 2009/2010. They point out, however, that the increase is mostly accounted for by the construction industry, which spent the spring making up some of the output lost to the exceptionally hard winter. The experts also expect the euro economy to grow less strongly in summer than in the preceding spring quarter. An adverse factor continues to be the uncertainty resulting from the debt crisis in a number of European countries.

Economic recovery in Germany continued through the third quarter of 2009/2010. GDP grew an estimated 0.8 percent in the third quarter compared with the second quarter of 2009/2010. This was significantly more than the 0.2 percent GDP growth recorded in the second quarter compared with the first quarter of 2009/2010. The largest share of growth came from additions to inventories. Alongside a continuation of healthy foreign demand, domestic orders also picked up significantly.