NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's economy shrank a revised 0.3 percent in the third quarter of the year, data showed on Tuesday, suggesting the grip of a three-year recession was easing.
Year-on-year, the island's economy contracted by 1.8 percent in the third quarter. Both quarterly and yearly data showed the economy shrinking less severely than flash estimates issued by the statistics department on Nov. 14.
Cyprus has been recording shrinking gross domestic product (GDP) since the third quarter of 2011, and Tuesday's data showed the shallowest recession since the first quarter of 2012.
The European Union and International Monetary Fund gave Cyprus a 10 billion euro (7.9 billion pounds) bailout in early 2013 after a banking crisis.
Authorities expect the economy to contract around 2.8 percent for the whole year, and to return to growth of about 0.5 percent next year.
The statistics department said trade and tourism, accounting and legal services showed growth, while manufacturing and construction output continued to shrink.
(Reporting By Michele Kambas, editing by John Stonestreet/Ruth Pitchford)