Wall Street Journal
June 8, 2012
Greek industrial production in April fell 2.2% from the comparable month of 2011, after an 8.1% annual drop in March, according to Elstat, the Greek statistics agency. In month-to-month terms, production in April fell 1.3%.
That suggests the economy is continuing to deteriorate in the second quarter, meaning little prospect of a near-term recovery for the bailed-out country. Greek gross domestic product shrank by 6.5% in the first quarter, Elstat said in a separate release Friday. That is a steeper fall than the 6.2% it reported in a previous estimate, and follows a 7.5% year-to-year drop in the fourth quarter.
"Recession pressures will remain [at] high levels during the second quarter of the year, because of the high uncertainty regarding the political scene ahead of the new elections and the future position of European leaders," said Nikos Magginas, senior economist at the National Bank of Greece. A downturn in tourism—a key part of the Greek economy—and high unemployment will continue to damage demand in the economy, he said.
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