HELSINKI - Finland's economy has slipped into recession with a 0.1 per cent drop in gross domestic product in the third quarter from the previous three months, as the export-dependent country continues to suffer from a drop in demand among European trading partners.
Statistics Finland said Wednesday economic output fell 1.1 per cent in the second quarter. That puts Finland in recession, commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of quarterly economic contraction.
Consumer demand was up 0.8 per cent in the third quarter but investments dropped by 1.1 per cent.
Compared with a year earlier, GDP was down 1.2 per cent, with exports falling 1.8 per cent.
The conservative-led coalition government of Finland, a rich country with healthy finances, has warned it will need to help the economy and contain growing inflation as the European crisis hurts exports.
