First-quarter growth at 2.1%

The growth rate of the first quarter of 2023 came to 2.1%, according to Wednesday's data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), with economists speaking of a slowdown, without however changing their forecasts for the year as a whole, which range from 2% to 3%.

After the growth rate of around 6% in 2022 (4.8% in the fourth quarter of 2022) the drop was expected since the comparison was with a higher base, but some analysts point out the fall was a bit more than expected. In April in the Stability Program the government predicted a 2.3% growth rate for the whole year, but its officials had recently indicated they expected a higher rate, closer to 3%.

In its Economic Outlook forecast on Wednesday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Greek GDP will grow by 2.2% this year while it will drop to 1.9% in 2024.

At +2.1%, Greece is...