TALLINN: Estonia's GDP growth slowed to 4.0 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, lower than analysts expected, with the economy contracting in quarter-on-quarter terms for the first time since the start of 2010, the statistics office said on Friday.
In seasonally-adjusted terms, the economy contracted 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the third, as exports stalled in the last months of 2011. In the June-Sept period, the economy grew 1.2 percent from the previous quarter.
"The growth of exports for manufacturing decelerated abruptly in the fourth quarter of 2011 primarily due to the decrease in the export of computers, electronic and optical products," the statistic office said.
In the third quarter of 2011, GDP grew 8.5 percent year-on-year. The slower 4.0 percent pace in the fourth quarter compared with a median estimate of 6.1 percent in a Reuters poll of analysts.
Annualised growth for full-year 2011 was a brisk 7.5 percent compared with 2.3 percent in 2010.
Estonia's finance ministry said in September 2011 that it expected the country's GDP to grow 3.0 percent in 2012. The statistics office it will release full details on fourth quarter GDP on March 9.
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