Greek economy shrank by 2.5% in the first quarter of 2010

The Greek economy shrank by 2.5 pct in the first quarter of 2010 reflecting a significant decline in investments and consumption in the country, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Wednesday. The statistics service, in a report, revised downwards its initial estimates for the country's Gross Domestic Product (2.3 pct), after shrinking by 1.0 pct in the first quarter of 2009 and by 2.0 pct last year as a whole. The country's Finance Minister George Papakonstantinou expects the country's GDP to shrink by 4.0 pct this year.

Gross investments on fixed capital fell 14.6 pct (16.7 pct on houses, 10 pct on machinery equipment and 29.3 pct on other constructions, while transport equipment recorded an 8.4 pct increase). Total consumption spending fell 0.7 pct (reflecting a 9.0 pct decline in public consumption and an 1.5 pct rise in private consumption), while exports fell 0.5 pct (exports of goods fell 3.9 pct, while exports of services rose 1.9 pct) and imports dropped 6.6 pct (imports of goods fell 11.1 pct and imports of services rose 10.7 pct). The country's trade deficit fell 15.8 pct in the January-March period, compared with the same period last year.
The statistics service said total Gross Added Value fell 3.2 pct in the first three months of the year, reflecting declines of 5.3 pct in manufacturing, 24.6 pct in construction, 1.9 pct in commerce and other services by 2.9 pct. Added value rose in farming (1.7 PCT) and financial services (0.2 pct). Wages fell 1.2 pct in the first quarter of 2010.