DUBLIN (dpa-AFX) - Ireland's economy entered a recession in the second quarter due to the restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, the Central Statistics Office reported Monday.
Gross domestic product fell 6.1 percent sequentially, after shrinking 2.1 percent in the first quarter.
This was the second consecutive fall in GDP and also the biggest contraction since 2008.
On the expenditure-side, personal consumption of goods and services plunged 19.6 percent, while government spending grew 7.5 percent. Capital investment contracted 67.4 percent.
Final domestic demand declined 46.9 percent mainly due to the significant covid-19 related decline in personal spending.
Due to the substantial fall in imports of intellectual property products, overall imports fell 35.5 percent and exports were down 3.1 percent.
On a yearly basis, GDP dropped 3 percent in the second quarter.
The current account of the balance of payments recorded a surplus of EUR 11.7 billion, or equivalent to 14.1 percent of GDP. In the same period last year, the deficit was EUR 32.6 billion.
Another report from the statistical office showed that industrial production grew 8.8 percent on month in July, taking the annual growth to 13.4 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX