2012.07.2309:31:00UTC+00Eurozone Govt. Debt Continues To Rise In Q1

The euro area government debt rose to 88.2 percent of gross domestic product in the first quarter from 87.3 percent in the previous quarter, Eurostat reported Monday.

At the end of the first quarter, securities other than shares accounted for 78.3 percent of euro area general government debt. Loans made up 17.8 percent and currency and deposits represented 2.8 percent of debt.

The debt figure does not include funds lent between the 17 countries to ease the financial crisis, which amounted to 1.2 percent of GDP in the first quarter compared to 0.7 percent a quarter ago.

The highest ratio of government debt to GDP at the end of the first quarter was logged by Greece, currently at 132.4 percent, which was followed by Italy with 123.3 percent.