Economy contracts for third quarter

The economy may have contracted for a third consecutive quarter in the first three months of the year, as consumers held back on spending and the euro-region debt crisis curbed export growth.

GDP may have fallen by 0.4% in the first quarter from the previous three months, according to a survey of eight economists. The economy shrank 0.2% in the fourth quarter.

The figures from the CSO, which may include revisions of earlier numbers, will be released this morning.