Spain back in recession as economy contracts in Q1

Spain's central bank says the country is now in a technical recession as the economy contracted 0.4 percent in the first quarter of the year.

The drop, published in a Bank of Spain report Monday, follows a 0.3 percent quarterly decline in the fourth quarter. A technical recession is commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

The Bank of Spain figure comes as no surprise, however. The government has said the economy is shrinking and forecasts it will contract 1.7 percent this year.