EU country’s economy shrinking

The contraction of the Finnish economy accelerated in the third quarter, the country’s statistics agency reports Read Full Article at RT.com

EU country’s economy shrinking

Finland’s GDP decreased by 0.3% in July through September from the previous quarter, official data shows

Finland’s economy has continued to decline, contracting more in the third quarter than a previous estimate indicated, official statistics revealed on Wednesday.

Statistics Finland data showed that GDP shrank 0.3% last quarter from the previous three-month period, ending five consecutive quarters of growth. In the year, the economy grew 1.0%, adjusted for the number of working days.

“The consumption of goods like food and fuel has declined since mid-2021, but now households are clearly reducing consumption on semi-durable goods such as clothes and shoes,” said senior statistician Samu Hakala.

According to the report, the economic downturn was led by a slump in private spending.

“We expect to see a contraction also in the fourth quarter, which would technically mean a recession for the Finnish economy,” Helsinki-based chief economist at Svenska Handelsbanken AB, Timo Hirvonen, wrote on Twitter.

READ MORE: Downturn in Eurozone will worsen, warns Lagarde

Economists expect a shallow but protracted recession in Finland to last into 2023. A recent report from Oxford Economics also indicated that the near-term outlook is bleak.

“High inflation is seeping into core prices, squeezing real incomes and denting confidence, while the ECB hikes rates. We see growth of 2.3% in 2022 and 0% in 2023, although there’s great uncertainty around the outlook,” the report said, noting that a slowdown is “imminent,” with record-low consumer confidence and weakening business confidence across sectors.

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