Spain's recession deepening: data

28 Aug 2012, 6:09 pm   -   Source: AAP

The Spanish economy shrank 0.4 per cent in the second quarter on a quarterly basis, new data shows.

Spain's recession is deepening with official data revealing the initial downturn was steeper and began earlier than first thought.

As the government took an axe to spending, economic output slumped by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter on a quarterly basis after a 0.3 per cent drop in the first quarter, the National Statistic Office said.

On an annual basis, gross domestic product tumbled by 1.3 per cent, much faster than the 0.6 per cent decline registered in the first three months of 2012, the figures showed.

Tuesday's figures confirmed previous estimates for Spain's weak performance in the second quarter.

But they also revealed the Spanish recession dates back to 2011, not the start of 2012.

The fragile economy's output in the third quarter of last year -- previously recorded as being just above zero -- had in fact slipped barely into negative territory, the statistician said.

That meant Spain's economy registered two consecutive quarters of negative growth, a common definition of a recession, in the final quarter of 2011 when it slumped 0.5 per cent, not the previously recorded 0.3 per cent.

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