The Danish economy experienced its sharpest decline in nearly four years during the first quarter, driven primarily by downturns in the transport and industry sectors, according to preliminary data released by Statistics Denmark on Tuesday.
Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 1.8 percent sequentially in the March quarter, reversing a 2.7 percent growth in the final quarter of 2023, which had been revised upwards from an initial estimate of 2.6 percent.
This decrease marked the fastest contraction since the second quarter of 2020, when the economy contracted by 6.0 percent.
The economic downturn in the first quarter was primarily attributed to declines in both the transport and industry sectors, Statistics Denmark noted.
On the expenditure side, household consumption declined by 1.9 percent over the quarter, largely due to a sharp 32.2 percent drop in vehicle purchases.
Net external demand was weak during the March quarter, with exports falling by 4.8 percent compared to the previous quarter, while imports rose by 0.8 percent.
However, there were some positive developments: gross fixed investments increased by 5.0 percent, and public consumption rose by 1.9 percent.
Annual GDP growth decelerated significantly to 0.2 percent from the previous quarter's 3.5 percent.