Spain's economy contracted 0.2 percent in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, suffering its first quarterly decline since 1993 as a global financial crisis pushed the country towards recession.
The estimate from the Bank of Spain on Friday showed gross domestic product expanded in annual terms in the third quarter, rising by 0.9 percent year-on-year, but the central bank was downbeat about the outlook as it flagged the growing risk of a deeper, more prolonged downturn in the world economy.
Spanish "indicators from the third quarter of 2008 show the correction intensifying, in the context of a profound deterioration in financial markets since mid-September," it said in its monthly report.
Growth was down from 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in April to June. In all of 2007, the economy expanded by 3.7 percent. Spain will likely have plenty of company in the economic slowdown, with negative quarterly GDP data already announced by countries including the United States, Britain and Ireland.
The government is set to announce its own preliminary GDP data on November 14, with more complete data a few days later. The government, which has launched a 38 billion euro fiscal stimulus programme, said the poor quarterly data was the result of external factors.
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