Ireland led out of recession by exports
IRELAND has finally quit the Eurozone’s longest-running recession in the first quarter, led to growth by strong exports.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 2.7 per cent in the first quarter from the preceding quarter, above analysts’ median forecast for one per cent growth.
Exports were the key factor, rising 6.9 per cent in the first quarter – the second strongest quarter for exports on record.
The latest data marked the first positive change in GDP versus the previous quarter since the final quarter of 2007.
Preliminary data had earlier indicated Ireland was back in growth in the third quarter of 2009 but the Central Statistics Office later revised the numbers to show continued contraction throughout last year.
An International Monetary Fund report last week said Ireland’s return to growth was likely to be more gradual than anticipated by the government, which could derail its much-vaunted fiscal reforms.
The government hopes to return to a general deficit of below three per cent of GDP by the end of 2014.