Spain still mired in recession as economy shrinks more than expected

• Spanish GDP fell 1% in second quarter
• 4.1% decline over a year is sharpest annual decline in 30 years
• 'Disappointing' result contrasts with France and Germany

Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk,
Friday 14 August 2009 10.44 BST


Empty sunbeds in Torremolinos - Spain's recession is expected to last well into next year. Photograph: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

The Spanish economy shrank more than expected in the second quarter, in sharp contrast to France and Germany which have climbed out of recession.

Gross domestic product dropped 1% from the previous quarter, following a 1.9% slump in the first quarter, according to preliminary government figures. GDP was down 4.1% from a year ago, the sharpest annual decline since records began in 1977.

"This was a bit disappointing and worse than we expected, since a number of indicators had improved in Spain over the last few months," said Dominic Bryant at BNP Paribas. "We do expect Spain to do worse than other European countries for a few years. Germany and France don't have the same imbalances as Spain, which means we expect it to stay weaker for longer."

The decline was worse than the 0.8% contraction recorded by the UK in the second quarter, one of the worst-performing economies in western Europe. Like Britain, Spain has suffered a collapse in its property market which put an abrupt end to a decade-long boom.

The Spanish government expects the economy to contract by 3.6% this year and return to growth by the second half of next year.

Germany and France, the eurozone's two largest economies, yesterday surprised with a return to growth of 0.3% over the period, fuelling hopes of recovery in the rest of Europe. The eurozone as a whole slipped by 0.1% between April and June as other countries including Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium remained in recession.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009 ... nd-quarter