The Czech Economy Contracted At A Record High In The Second Quarter
The Czech economy contracted at a record high in the second quarter. The reason was blockades to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. This was confirmed on Friday by further refinement of data from the Czech Statistical Office (CSO).
According to the latest results, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Czech Republic in the period April-June decreased by 8.7 percent compared to the first three months of the year and decreased by 10.9 percent year on year.
The first preliminary estimate at the end of July signaled a quarter-on-quarter decline in GDP of 8.4 percent and a year-on-year decline of 10.7 percent. In August, however, the CZSO revised these results downwards and reported a quarter-on-quarter decline in GDP of 8.7 percent in the second quarter and 11 percent year on year.
After the latest adjustment, the year-on-year decline is slightly more modest, although the results for the second quarter are the worst in the history of the Czech Republic.
At the same time, in the period April-June, the Czech Republic fell into a technical recession, which is defined as two quarters of a decline in GDP in a row. The last time the Czech economy was in recession was in 2012 and early 2013.
The CZSO reiterated that the negative year-on-year development of GDP was largely due to a sharp decline in foreign demand and also a decline in domestic consumption and investment during the months of blockades.