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Gross domestic product (GDP) decreased 8.4% from the first quarter, when it fell 3.4%. Two consecutive quarters of GDP decline qualifies as a technical recession.
The economy was last in recession during the whole of 2012 and early 2013. On a year-on-year basis, GDP dropped 10.7% in the second quarter after a 2% slump in the first three months of the year.
The negative year-on-year GDP development was caused mainly by a marked decrease in external demand and by lower household consumption as well as investment activity, the Prague-based statistical office said. In the second quarter, the gross value added (GVA) decreased in almost all economic activities of the national economy.