Greece’s economy expanded for a fourth straight quarter in the last three months of 2017, but at a slower pace, according to figures published Monday, MarketWatch reported. Gross domestic product increased by 0.1% in the October-to-December period, compared with an upwardly revised 0.4% growth in the third quarter, according to data from Greece’s statistics service Elstat. However, the first estimate of the seasonally adjusted data shows a 1.4% rise in the economy, compared with a 1.6% estimate by the European Commission and Greece’s budget. On an annual basis, the Greek GDP expanded by 1.9% in the fourth quarter of the year. “Gross-fixed capital formation has been the main driver of economic performance, while private consumption remained vulnerable, exemplifying the still weak state of Greek households balance sheets,” said Nikos Magginas, senior economist at National Bank of Greece. “The positive carry to GDP growth in 2018 is estimated at 0.6%, the strongest since 2007,” he said. The commission sees the economy expanding further, by 2.5% in 2018 and 2019.
