Greece just reported an astonishingly strong GDP figure for the second quarter of the year. GDP rose by 0.8%, as opposed to the 0.8% fall that analysts had been expecting. Through those months (April to June), the Greek government was going through negotiations with its European creditors and there was climbing uncertainty about a deal. At the very end of the period, on June 28, the government shuttered banks, imposed capital controls. Athens then missed a payment due to the International Monetary Fund, putting it in a small club including Sudan and Zimbabwe. What's more, the 0.2% decline originally recorded for the first three months of the year has been revised to a 0% rise. Economist Shaun Richards tweeted one suggestion as to why GDP figures might seem unusually good for the second quarter: "We saw a freak result for #Greece #GDP like this back in 2010 and the reason then was a sharp fall in imports which boosted the numbers." Imports are the production of another country, bought with the importer's money, so they weigh against GDP. So if Greece kept exporting the same amount and imports went though the floor, the result could be a misleading rise in GDP. But the Greek statistical office hasn't yet released any details, so we can't say for sure what's gone on here. Cash limits and capital controls were only in place for a very small fraction of Q2, but Q3's figures are much more likely to be impacted badly by them.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here are some incredible toys hedge fund boss Steve Cohen has bought with his billions
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