Spain says 2nd quarter GDP decline in annual terms smaller than originally believed

Spain revises Q2 growth figure upward

MADRID — Spain says its economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the second quarter, less than the initial estimate of a 0.2 percent decline.

The National Statistics Institute confirmed its original figure of 0.2 percent growth in the second quarter compared to the first. That marked the second straight quarter of expansion for an economy struggling to overcome nearly two years of recession.

The institute said Thursday the year-on-year revision stems from figures it released Wednesday showing the economy shrank more than originally believed in 2009 — 3.7 percent instead of 3.6.

The agency attributed the second-quarter growth to a 2 percent rise in household consumption compared to the same period last year.