According to ELSTAT, the recession in Greece was estimated to be 3.8% GDP during the second semester (April-June 2013), which is less than the original 4.6% estimation.
This difference is attributed to data not available at the original evaluation, such as monthly import/export data or the quarterly turnover rates in various sectors. The greatest improvement was noted in the food and hospitality industries, thanks to a tourism boom this summer.
Consumer expenses were reduced by 6.3% compared to the second semester in 2012, while gross investments dropped 11%. Overall, there was a 75% reduction to the trade balance deficit, which contributed to lower recession.
The export of goods and services increased by 3.1% and 1.6% respectively (for an overall 0.9% increase), while the import of goods and services was reduced by 10.7% and 16% respectively (11.8% overall).
The current chronology of the quarterly data will be updated, due to the review of the respective annual national account results, which is scheduled to occur in September.
