Ireland's GDP grew 2.4 per cent in the first quarter of the year, with gross national product (GNP) up 3.9 per cent, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said today.
GDP had been expected to rise 4.5 per cent year-on-year, while GNP had been seen growing by 4.1 per cent, according to the median forecast of eight economists surveyed by Reuters.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, GDP and GNP increased by 0.3 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter, the CSO said.
Quarterly national accounts also showed consumer spending in the quarter up 5.8 per cent on the same period last year, capital investment up 10 per cent, and the volume of industry output down 0.8 per cent.
Net exports were almost €1.3 billion ($1.57 billion) lower than in the same period of 2004.
