The pace of economic recovery among the 12 nations of the eurozone showed no sign of improving in the third quarter of 2002, according to figures released today by Eurostat The statistics office said eurozone GDP grew by 0.3pc in the three months to September from the previous quarter and by 0.8pc year-on-year. The figure was unchanged from an earlier estimate, published in December The EU-15 grew by 0.4pc during the third quarter and was up 1.1pc year-on-year. The European Commission has warned that the eurozone could shrink in the first three months of 2003. The European Central Bank (ECB) slashed interest rates by 50 basis points last month in a bid to prevent this happening. Its governing council meets again today, but is not expected to lower rates again, despite claims by some analysts that the eurozone needs another cut According to today's estimates, consumers spent at the fastest pace in a year in the third quarter, while business investment ended an 18-month decline, edging up by 0.1pc from the previous three months However, there was a slowdown in the construction sector and by the services industries, particularly in the financial services sector, Eurostat said ///www.fxcentre.com