More pain for Spain as economy slips into recession

Spain's economic malaise was confirmed this morning as GDP for the first quarter of the year showed a contraction of 0.3%.

Mimicking a recession seen in the UK, the Spanish economy clocked up its second consecutive quarter of negative growth, although it shrank less than forecast, with the Bank of Spain estimating a 0.4% contraction before the announcement. It is the second recession Spain has endured since 2009, and comes at a time when unemployment in the country is at an all time high. The Q1 contraction follows a 0.3% decline seen in the final quarter of 2011, but it will come as little surprise to most investors. At the end of last week the Spanish government warned economic growth is likely to ge...