Spain says recession deepening

Spains recession is deepening, official data showed Tuesday, also revealing that the initial downturn was steeper and began earlier than first thought.As the government took an axe to spending, economic output slumped by 0.4 percent in the second quarter on a quarterly basis after a 0.3-percent drop in the first quarter, the National Statistic Office said.On an annual basis, gross domestic product tumbled by 1.3 percent, much faster than the 0.6-percent decline registered in the first three months of 2012, the figures showed.The latest figures confirmed previous estimates for Spains weak performance in the second quarter.But they also revealed that the Spanish recession dates back to 2011, not the start of 2012.The fragile economys output in the third quarter of last year -- previously recorded as being just above zero -- had in fact slipped barely into negative territory, the statistician said.That meant the economy registered two consecutive quarters of negative growth, a common definition of a recession, in the final quarter of 2011 when it slumped 0.5 percent, not the previously recorded 0.3 percent.