CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela’s economy expanded 4.5 per cent for the first quarter, confirming strong growth after nearly two years of recession, officials said yesterday.

Growth in both the public and private sectors contributed to the recovery, even as the key oil industry contracted 1.8 per cent, Central Bank president Nelson Merentes said at a news conference.

The rapid expansion came after the last quarter of 2010 showed Venezuela had barely emerged from recession with 0.6 percent growth, in a year that saw an overall decline of 1.4 per cent in gross domestic product.

The jump between the first quarter of 2011 over that of 2010 was a sharp change from the 4.8 per cent decline for the first quarter last year.

The public sector grew 3.3 per cent, while the private sector grew 4.6 per cent, Merentes said.

Merentes attributed the decline in the oil sector to the number of drills the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA had in operation during the period. He expressed confidence that the sector will grow in the coming months.

Sectors that boosted growth included manufacturing (7.6 per cent), retail (10.4 per cent), communications (eight per cent) and transportation and warehousing services (7.8 per cent).

Planning and Finance Minister Jorge Giordani said the quarter’s results show that “we’re going toward growth that is going to be sustained.”