Greek 2018Q1 GDP

So ELSTAT announced the Greek GDP figures for 2018Q1. The main taking point was that GDP increased 2.3% on an annual basis compared with 2017Q1. Yet if one takes a closer look I feel that there are a few worrying signs, specifically in the sectoral breakdown:

It is clear that consumption, especially private consumption continued registering negative growth for a third consecutive quarter. As I have outlined recently I find it quite difficult for Greek households to continue running down their financial assets at a pace of €9bn per year in order to maintain (or even increase) their consumption levels. This is destined to have its toll on investment activity which actually registered a 10% fall during 2018Q1.

As a result, Greek internal demand contributed negatively to GDP growth with only net exports being a driver of the positive 2.3% growth figure. Unless these internal demand dynamics take a positive turn during the next quarters I fear that GDP growth for 2018 will prove to be disappointing, at least compared to projections (the Commission projects that 2018 growth will be driven almost completely by internal demand and not by net exports). Obviously running a primary surplus close to 4% of GDP for the third year in a row will only make matters more difficult.