Contraction in European economy slows down in Q2

Wednesday, 07 October 2009 16:34:38 (GMT+2)

According to revised estimates released on October 7 by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in the second quarter of 2009 the gross domestic product (GDP) of the European Union member states (EU-27) fell by 0.3 percent quarter on quarter. In the first quarter the economy of the EU-27 had contracted by 2.4 percent from the previous quarter. In its initial estimate issued in August, Eurostat calculated that GDP for the EU-27 in the second quarter fell by 0.2 percent quarter on quarter.

Accordingly, in comparison with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP declined in the second quarter of 2009 by 4.9 percent in the EU-27, after a year-on-year decrease of 4.8 percent in the previous quarter.

In the second quarter of 2009, among member states for which seasonally adjusted GDP data are available, Slovakia recorded the highest growth rate with an increase of 2.2 percent compared with the previous quarter, followed by Slovenia with 0.7 percent and Poland with 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, during the period in question, investments fell by 2.3 percent in the EU-27, following the decrease of six percent recorded in the previous quarter. Exports fell by 1.7 percent in the EU-27 in Q2, after declining by 8.6 percent in Q1, while imports decreased by 2.9 percent in Q2, after the decrease of 8.3 percent in Q1.

Among the main trading partners of the EU, GDP decreased by 0.2 percent in the US in the second quarter of 2009, while in Japan GDP increased by 0.6 percent, both compared to Q1 2009.

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