The Greek economy has fallen into negative growth again as Greece records a new period of recession in the first quarter of 2015.
Gross domestic product dropped by 0.2 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.
At the same time, growth increased to 0.3 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2014. Annual growth increase is projected at 0.1 per cent, far from the 1 per cent that the Greek government claimed it could achieve.
In reaction to the news, Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tsipras will chair his second ministerial meeting in two days.
Alexis Tsipras has said his radical left-led government has done as much as it can to strike a deal to get more bailout loans, insisting the ball is now in the court of the creditors.
At stake is a 7.2 billion euro rescue loan installment, and failure to reach an agreement could lead Greece to default on its obligations within weeks — triggering a chain of events that could force the country to leave the euro.
Nevertheless, Greek stocks were 1.2 percent higher in afternoon trading Wednesday, with analysts saying the economic contraction was smaller than expected.
Source: Greek reporter, AP