Germany to lead eurozone growth in 2014, US shows more signs of slowing

The European Commission sees economic growth in Germany pulling away from France and Italy in 2014.

In its forecast released on Tuesday, the Commission sees the eurozone economy growing 1.2 percent this year. Germany is expected to grow 1.8 percent, France by 1.0 percent and Italy by 0.6 percent.

Also on Tuesday, Germany confirmed that its economy grew 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

Growth was driven by foreign trade, which added 1.1 percentage points to the growth rate. In contrast, domestic demand subtracted 0.7 percentage points.

Meanwhile, US data on Tuesday continued to show the economy losing momentum.

House price gains slowed at the end of last year, with the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rising 0.8 percent in December, down from a 0.9 percent rise in November.

Consumer sentiment deteriorated in February, with the Conference Board's consumer confidence index falling to 78.1 from 79.4 in January.