(RTTNews) – The Dutch economy contracted at record speed this quarter and entered a severe recession due to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic, or Covid-19, initial estimates from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed Friday.
Gross domestic product declined by 8.5% sequentially after a 1.5% drop in the first quarter. Economists had predicted a 9.2% drop.
This is the largest quarterly drop on record and more than partly attributable to declining household consumption, while capital investment and the industry balance sheet also fell dramatically, CBS reported.
Previously, the biggest quarterly drop was 3.6% in the first quarter of 2009 in the global currency crisis.
Household spending fell 10.4% and investment by 12.4%. Exports and imports fell by 9.8 consisting of a penny and 8.3 consistent with a penny, respectively. Audience engagement fell by 3%.