GDP shows modest growth

A little uptick gives the finance minister something to smile about

Friday's announcement of a modest 0.5 percent second quarter rise in GDP was met with muted celebration by Bjarne Corydon (Socialdemokraterne), the finance minister.

While Corydon said the news gave him “a little smile” on his face, he cautioned that the financial crisis was far from being resolved.

"These numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt,” Corydon said in a press release. “They are better than we expected, partially because the teacher lockout cut public spending.”

In connection with the release of its budget last week, the government revised its forecasted growth rate for this year downward to 0.4 percent. In May it said growh this year would be 0.5 percent.

Exports up

Corydon also noted that exports rose by 1.8 percent in the second quarter.

“Growth in exports is good for the economy and for private sector employees,” wrote Corydon. “Although today’s numbers are encouraging, indicators coming up in the future could go either way.”

Corydon said the government would continue to invest in the economy until “growth gets really fat and more Danes have jobs”.





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