Portugal has became the latest euro zone nation to plunge into recession today, when official statistics showed the economy contracted 1.6% in the fourth quarter after a 0.1% decline in the third.
Compared with fourth quarter 2007, gross domestic product shrank 1.8%.
Portuguese authorities attributed the economy's stagnation in 2008, after growth of 1.9% in 2007, to sluggish foreign and domestic demand.
The 16-nation euro zone as a whole is currently in recession, as are several of its key members - Ireland, Germany, Italy and Spain. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
