Croatia’s economy shrinks faster than estimated in Q2

Croatia’s economy shrunk faster than estimated in the second quarter, confirming that the country is in recession, final data released by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics revealed on Thursday. Economic newswire RTT News reports that GDP fell 2.2 % year-on-year in the second quarter, faster than the 2.1% contraction recorded in preliminary estimates. It is worth to mention that Croatia, which is set to join the European Union in July 2013, is struggling to revive its economy after three years of recession or stagnation. Fitch on Sept. 5 revised the country’s outlook to stable from negative, citing the government’s progress in meeting spending-cut demands and sticking to its budget targets during a recession. The Adriatic Sea nation’s “inability to return to growth since the 2008 crisis” poses a threat to the country’s fiscal consolidation efforts and may hinder its efforts to reduce debt, the credit rating company said today in an e-mailed statement from London,Fitch Ratings said. The World Bank estimated Croatia’s economy will shrink 1 percent in 2012, while the central bank said it will decline 1.6%. Croatia’s rating, Fitch’s lowest investment grade, is on par with Latvia and Bulgaria. 21