The household savings rate in euro area countries slightly decreased compared to 15.3% from the same period last year, while also marking a minimal increase of 0.1 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2024, which stood at 15.5%.
Across the EU, the household savings rate of 14.6% reflects an increase from 14.4% in the first quarter of 2024, as indicated by European statistical services.
Among Member States with available data, the household savings rate rose in seven countries and declined in eight.
Hungary recorded the highest quarterly increase of 1.6 percentage points, followed by Belgium and the Netherlands, both at 0.7 percentage points, and Denmark at 0.6 percentage points.
Conversely, the largest declines were noted in Greece (-3.6 percentage points), Portugal (-3.0 percentage points), and Austria (-1.7 percentage points).
From January to March, private consumption in the euro area decreased by 0.2%, contrasting with a 0.6% increase in the same quarter of the previous year and a 0.4% rise in the previous quarter.
During this period, per capita household income in the euro area fell by 0.1%, following a 1.1% increase in the first quarter of 2024 and a 0.2% rise between October and December of 2024.
In the EU, private consumption per capita decreased by 0.3% from January to March, against a 0.7% increase in the corresponding period last year and a 0.4% rise in the prior quarter.
Meanwhile, private income in the EU dropped by 0.1%, in contrast to a 1.1% increase in the first quarter of 2024 and a 0.2% rise in the preceding period.
