The euro zone economy grew more than expected in the second quarter of 2024, preliminary figures from the European Union’s statistics office showed on Tuesday.

The zone’s gross domestic product rose 0.3% in the three months to the end of June compared with the previous quarter, the data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.2% rise on a quarterly basis.

First quarter GDP was confirmed at 0.3%, unchanged from the initial reading announced earlier this year.

The eurozone entered a technical recession in the second half of 2023, as GDP contracted in both the third and fourth quarters of the year, according to revised figures published earlier this year.

Bert Colijn, senior euro zone economist at ING, said in a note on Tuesday that the data indicated the region’s economy was recovering somewhat.

“After stagnating throughout 2023, this is a relief and shows that the economy has begun to cautiously recover,” he said, adding that the economy was now in a better position than a year earlier.

“The question remains as to where the economy will go from here and recent data do not offer much confidence that the eurozone economy is accelerating further,” Colijn said.

Data released earlier in the day showed the euro zone’s largest economy, Germany, unexpectedly shrank 0.1% in the second quarter, below the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters who had expected the country’s GDP to grow 0.1%.

According to the European Union’s statistics office, Germany was one of four countries whose GDP fell in the three months to the end of June. Latvia, Sweden and Hungary were the other three countries that recorded contractions.

Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at ifo, said in a note on Wednesday that the German economy was “stuck in crisis” and was not expected to improve much in the third quarter either.

Meanwhile, Ireland recorded the strongest growth, up 1.2% in the second quarter, while the euro zone’s second-largest economy, France, posted GDP growth of 0.3% over the same period, its statistics office said on Tuesday.

Eurozone inflation figures are due out on Wednesday. The new eurozone data due this week comes after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged at its meeting earlier this month, saying the option of a cut in September was “wide open.”