Greece Economy Shrinks By 0.4% In Fourth Quarter: Data

Faizan Hashmi Published February 14, 2017 | 05:25 PM

ATHENS, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Feb, 2017 ) - Greece's economy contracted by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared with the previous quarter, the state statistics office said Tuesday.

But the economy in the debt-troubled country grew 0.3 percent in comparison with the same quarter in 2015, Elstat said in a flash estimate. The figures for the three months to December followed two straight quarters of growth in gross domestic product (GDP) after a period of recession.

The news comes amid fears of a new debt crisis that could again jeopardise Greece's place in the euro after months of failed talks between Athens and its eurozone and International Monetary Fund (IMF) creditors.

Top EU economic affairs official Pierre Moscovici is due in Athens for talks with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday in an effort to unblock bailout negotiations. Greece's economy grew 0.3 percent last year, according to AFP calculations, while Brussels is pencilling in growth of 2.7 percent for 2017 and 3.1 percent for 2018.