Economy shows sharp slump in Q1

ECONOMIC conditions deteriorated sharply in the first quarter of 2003, the quarterly national accounts disclose.

It shows that measured on a GDP basis, the economy slumped sharply in the first three months of 2003 and grew by just 0.5% compared with 6.9% for the previous year.

The latest Central Statistics Office figures confirm that economic conditions in the early part of this year worsened, reflecting the continuing global economic slump.