Spanish economy contracts further

Spain's recession-hit economy shrank further in the second quarter, down by one per cent from the first three months of the year, official data showed yesterday.

Compared to the same period last year, the gross domestic product contracted by 4.1 per cent, the National Statistics Institute said in preliminary figures.

It was the fourth quarterly contraction in a row after a fall of 1.9 per cent in the first three months of the year, one per cent in the three months to December and 0.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2008.

Spain remains mired in its first recession for 15 years, which began at the end of 2008 as the global credit crunch worsened a correction which was already underway in its once booming housing sector.