ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece’s economy shrank in July-to-September compared to the second quarter as exports, including tourism dropped, the country’s statistics service (ELSTAT) said on Wednesday.
Seasonally adjusted data showed gross domestic product dropped by 0.5% in the third quarter from a downwardly revised 0.6% growth rate in the previous quarter.
The country’s growth slowed down to 2.8% year-on-year from a downwardly revised 7.1% growth in the second quarter.
Exports – including the key tourism industry – dropped by 3.3% in the third quarter compared to a 0.4% rise in the second quarter.
Private consumption decreased by 0.1% between July and September from a 0.2% growth in the previous quarter.
Greece emerged in 2018 from a decade-long debt crisis that had forced it to sign up to three international bailouts. Its economic performance is pivotal as it aims to return to investment grade next year.
The government has projected economy will grow by 5.6% this year thanks to higher-than-expected tourism receipts and strong consumer spending.
However, it estimates output will slow to 1.8% in 2023, as soaring energy costs and inflation are seen hurting domestic demand and exports.
2022 2021
KEY FIGURES Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4
GDP (q/q, %) -0.5 0.6* 2.2* 0.6*
GDP (y/y, %) 2.8 7.1* 7.9* 8.8*
* revised
source: ELSTAT
(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Toby Chopra)
