Croatia's Recession Deepens As Estimated In Q4

(RTTNews) - The Croatian economy contracted at a faster pace in the final three months of last year, in line with the preliminary estimates, signaling that the ongoing recession has deepened, final figures released by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.

Gross domestic product (GDP), in real terms, decreased 1.2 percent on an annual basis in the December quarter, after falling 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, in the third quarter and the second quarter.

The deterioration mainly reflected a 1.8 percent annual contraction in households' final consumption expenditure, and a 3.3 percent fall in gross fixed capital formation. The negative impact of these factors was partially offset by a 1.2 percent growth in public consumption expenditure.

Exports of goods and services decreased 3.8 percent during the fourth quarter, and imports dropped 4.4 percent, the agency said.

In the whole of 2013, the economy contracted by 1 percent, which was in line with the preliminary estimates.