Q1 European & Asian GDP Largely Worse Than Expected
Worst Global Recession Since Depression Deepened in Q1
Bloomberg:
German, Italy Economies Shrank at Record Pace in First Quarter
The German and Italian economies contracted more than forecast in the first quarter, slumping the most on record after the global financial crisis crippled exports and investment across Europe.
German gross domestic product plunged a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent from the fourth quarter, when it fell 2.2 percent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. That’s the steepest drop since quarterly data were first compiled in 1970 and compares with the 3 percent decline predicted by economists in a Bloomberg News survey...
Today’s report “was dramatically worse than expected,” said Joerg Lueschow, an economist at WestLB in Duesseldorf. “We can only hope that the improvement in sentiment wasn’t a mirage but a sign of stabilization and recovery.” ...
The IMF expects the euro-area economy to shrink 4.2 percent this year and 0.4 percent in 2010...
Dow Jones:
Italy Prelim 1Q GDP Falls Steepest Since '80,-2.4% QQ
ROME (Dow Jones)--Italy's recession deepened at the start of 2009, with first-quarter gross domestic product falling to its worst level since at least 1980, adding weight to the view that Europe's fourth-largest economy is headed for its worst downturn since World War II.
Preliminary data from statistics office Istat showed Friday that Italian GDP from January to March fell 2.4% from the previous quarter, compared with a downwardly revised 2.1% contraction in the fourth quarter of last year.
On an annual basis, Istat said GDP fell 5.9%, also the sharpest drop for at least 29 years, as exports were hit by the global economic crisis. Istat's new series began in 1980.
The falls were worse than a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 14 analysts predicting a 1.8% drop on the quarter and a 5% drop on the year.
An Istat official said that, if GDP is flat in the remaining three quarters of the year, 2009 GDP will contract by 4.6%...
Finnish March GDP -10.8% On Year, -1.1% On Month
Finland's economy continued to contract in March as manufacturing and construction output fell sharply, data showed Friday.
Finnish gross domestic product in March fell a seasonally adjusted 1.1% compared with the previous month and plunged by a working day-adjusted 10.8% compared with the same month of 2008, Statistics Finland said...
RTT News:
Dutch GDP Plunges In Q1
Friday, a report by the Netherlands' Central Bureau of Statistics said the gross domestic product or GDP shrank 4.5% year-on-year in the first quarter compared to a 0.6% drop in the fourth quarter. Economists expected the GDP to fall 3.1%. The latest fall in GDP is the biggest since the Second World War...
Guardian UK:
Hong Kong Q1 GDP shrinks 4.3 pct qtr/qtr
Hong Kong's economic recession deepened in the first three months of 2009 as GDP shrank by a much worse-than-expected 4.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, from the previous quarter.
Compared with a year ago, first-quarter gross domestic product fell 7.8 percent, government data showed on Friday, worse than a forecast 5.2 percent decline.
The weak performance prompted the government to revise its full-year GDP forecast. It said it now expects the economy to shrink by 5.5 to 6.5 percent this year, compared with a previous forecast for a 2 to 3 percent contraction.
The first-quarter data places Hong Kong alongside regional neighbours Singapore, New Zealand and Japan in reporting four consecutive quarters of falling GDP...
Bloomberg:
German, Italy Economies Shrank at Record Pace in First Quarter
The German and Italian economies contracted more than forecast in the first quarter, slumping the most on record after the global financial crisis crippled exports and investment across Europe.
German gross domestic product plunged a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent from the fourth quarter, when it fell 2.2 percent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. That’s the steepest drop since quarterly data were first compiled in 1970 and compares with the 3 percent decline predicted by economists in a Bloomberg News survey...
Today’s report “was dramatically worse than expected,” said Joerg Lueschow, an economist at WestLB in Duesseldorf. “We can only hope that the improvement in sentiment wasn’t a mirage but a sign of stabilization and recovery.” ...
The IMF expects the euro-area economy to shrink 4.2 percent this year and 0.4 percent in 2010...
Dow Jones:
Italy Prelim 1Q GDP Falls Steepest Since '80,-2.4% QQ
ROME (Dow Jones)--Italy's recession deepened at the start of 2009, with first-quarter gross domestic product falling to its worst level since at least 1980, adding weight to the view that Europe's fourth-largest economy is headed for its worst downturn since World War II.
Preliminary data from statistics office Istat showed Friday that Italian GDP from January to March fell 2.4% from the previous quarter, compared with a downwardly revised 2.1% contraction in the fourth quarter of last year.
On an annual basis, Istat said GDP fell 5.9%, also the sharpest drop for at least 29 years, as exports were hit by the global economic crisis. Istat's new series began in 1980.
The falls were worse than a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 14 analysts predicting a 1.8% drop on the quarter and a 5% drop on the year.
An Istat official said that, if GDP is flat in the remaining three quarters of the year, 2009 GDP will contract by 4.6%...
Finnish March GDP -10.8% On Year, -1.1% On Month
Finland's economy continued to contract in March as manufacturing and construction output fell sharply, data showed Friday.
Finnish gross domestic product in March fell a seasonally adjusted 1.1% compared with the previous month and plunged by a working day-adjusted 10.8% compared with the same month of 2008, Statistics Finland said...
RTT News:
Dutch GDP Plunges In Q1
Friday, a report by the Netherlands' Central Bureau of Statistics said the gross domestic product or GDP shrank 4.5% year-on-year in the first quarter compared to a 0.6% drop in the fourth quarter. Economists expected the GDP to fall 3.1%. The latest fall in GDP is the biggest since the Second World War...
Guardian UK:
Hong Kong Q1 GDP shrinks 4.3 pct qtr/qtr
Hong Kong's economic recession deepened in the first three months of 2009 as GDP shrank by a much worse-than-expected 4.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, from the previous quarter.
Compared with a year ago, first-quarter gross domestic product fell 7.8 percent, government data showed on Friday, worse than a forecast 5.2 percent decline.
The weak performance prompted the government to revise its full-year GDP forecast. It said it now expects the economy to shrink by 5.5 to 6.5 percent this year, compared with a previous forecast for a 2 to 3 percent contraction.
The first-quarter data places Hong Kong alongside regional neighbours Singapore, New Zealand and Japan in reporting four consecutive quarters of falling GDP...