Growth forecast reined in

TALLINN - Estonia’s economy grew at a slower pace in the second quarter, on a year-on-year comparison, than it did in the previous three-month period, weighed down by slowing output, reports Bloomberg.
Gross domestic product rose 8.4 percent from a year earlier, unrevised from a preliminary estimate, and a revised 9.5 percent rate in the first quarter, the Tallinn-based statistics office said on its Web site on Sept. 8.

Output grew a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent from a quarter before, compared with a preliminary estimate of 1.8 percent. The office recalculated figures for the first quarter and earlier periods due to methodology changes, it said.
The 13.8 billion euro economy adopted the euro currency on Jan. 1, as it continues to work its way out of the second-deepest recession in Europe. The Baltic nation has grown at the fastest pace in the 27-member bloc this year, helped by rising demand for wireless network equipment manufactured at the local plant of Stockholm-based Ericsson, and by higher shipments of Russian oil products through its ports.

Exports rose an annual 54 percent in the first half, the statistics office said last month.
The Finance Ministry revised its growth forecast for this year to 7 percent on Sept. 7, and reduced its 2012 growth forecast to 3 percent, saying rising global uncertainty will cap the boost from stronger-than-expected exports and investment. The expansion may also slow to 1 percent in a risk scenario which foresees a global double-dip recession, the ministry warned.