In part that reflected temporary factors, notably the unusually mild winter in many regions of the euro area which boosted construction activity early in the year. GDP growth weakened  BIS Review 106/2008  3  considerably in the second quarter falling by 0.2%. For us this did not come as a surprise.
We indicated already early this year that the result of the second quarter would to some extent reflect a technical reaction to the high growth estimated in the previous period.