2023.05.3109:31:00UTC+00Finland GDP Expands 0.2%, Less Than Estimated

Finland's economy expanded less than initially estimated in the first quarter after contracting in the previous two quarters, the latest figures from Statistics Finland showed on Wednesday.

Gross domestic product advanced a seasonally and working-day-adjusted 0.2 percent sequentially in the March quarter, reversing a revised 0.6 percent fall in the previous quarter. In the initial estimate, the rate of growth in the first quarter was 1.1 percent.

Thus, the economy has now recovered from a technical recession due to back-to-back declines in GDP in the previous two quarters.

On the expenditure side, private consumption rose 0.1 percent over the quarter, and government consumption showed a strong growth of 3.1 percent.

Meanwhile, gross fixed capital formation declined by 3.0 percent as both private and public investments fell. Both exports and imports dropped by 0.1 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.

On a yearly basis, gross domestic product declined 0.3 percent, reversing a 0.1 percent increase in the fourth quarter. Further, this was the first contraction since the second quarter of 2021.