Costa Rica's economy to shrink 1.8 pct in 2009

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica May 21 (Reuters) - Costa Rica's economy will contract 1.8 percent in 2009, hit by the recession in its main trading partner the United States, the central bank said on Thursday.

Costa Rica was forecast to grow 2.2 percent this year but Central Bank President Francisco de Paula Gutierrez told reporters the impact of the U.S. downturn was now deeper than expected.

Politically stable Costa Rica, part of the U.S.-Central America free-trade area, depends mainly on tourism, bananas and electronic exports. (Reporting by John McPhaul; Editing Bernard Orr)