A collapse in household spending, exports and manufacturing sucked the life out of the euro zone's economy in the final months of 2011, the EU said on Tuesday, showing the scope of the downturn that looks set to become a fully fledged recession.
Output in the 17 countries sharing the euro shrank 0.3 percent in October to December from the third quarter, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat said, confirming an earlier estimate released last month.
European households, suffering from deep cuts in government spending and rising unemployment, reduced their spending by 0.4 percent, while government expenditure fell 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter. Imports into the euro zone fell 1.2 percent.
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