Greek economy contracts more than first thought

Greece's troubled economy contracted by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 instead of the 0.2-percent figure given earlier this month, the state statistics agency said on Friday.
"Available seasonally adjusted data indicate that in the fourth quarter of 2014 the gross domestic product in volume terms decreased by 0.4 percent compared with the third quarter of 2014 against the decrease of 0.2 percent that was calculated for the flash estimate," the agency said.
The correction also affected the economy's performance over the year, with slim annual growth trimmed to 0.7 percent compared to 0.8 percent in the previous estimate, according to AFP calculations.
The quarter-on-quarter contraction was the first since Greece in exited a six-year recession last year.
Economic reforms under Greece's 240-billion-euro ($270-billion) bailout slowed after a government reshuffle in June and in the last weeks of the year, with the country beset political uncertainty over efforts to elect a new president.
The failure to elect a president triggered early elections in January that saw the anti-austerity Syriza come to power and is currently locked in tense negotiations with the EU and IMF to reverse many reforms but also lower taxes and increase social spending to boost growth.
In an annual comparison, the economy grew by 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter, instead of 1.7 percent in the previous estimate.
"These differences are on account of using new data, not available at the time of the flash estimate," the agency said, including December balance of payments figures, turnover indices for the service industries, and labour force survey data.