The eurozone continues to grow behind the United States, and the German economy is still unable to recover.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The euro zone economy enjoyed modest growth in the April-June quarter as the United States beat expectations, highlighting a widening transatlantic gap with Germany, and the European Union's largest economy remained unabated as reluctant consumers saved more instead of spending on cars or new homes.

Gross domestic product, or the total output of goods and services, rose by 0.3% in the second quarter in the 20 countries that use the euro, according to official figures published Tuesday by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency. Germany, the group’s largest economy, contracted again, with GDP falling by 0.1%.

Tuesday's figures follow a similar 0.3% increase for the January-March quarter, the first significant increase after more than a year of near-zero stagnation.

In contrast, the U.S. economy grew 0.7% in the second quarter from the previous quarter, or 2.8% on an annualized basis. American consumers are spending freely, and government spending with a larger budget deficit and subsidies for business investment in renewable energy, semiconductors, and infrastructure are contributing to U.S. growth.

These trends are reflected in Europe, where consumers are starting to save at record levels and governments are beginning to restrict spending to reduce their budget deficits.