GDP drops by 3.6 percent
during first semester of 2019

Major contractions

in construction and trade

Recession was in full swing prior to the demonstrations that started in October 2019. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 3.6 percent in the 12-month period ending in June 2019 compared with the corresponding period ending in June 2018, according to figures published by the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS).

The GDP contraction accelerated to five percent in the second quarter of 2019 compared with the same period a year earlier. The year-on-year contraction was four percent in the first quarter of 2019.

CAS has started to report quarterly on National Accounts. Previously, the reporting was done on an annual basis.

The figures are confirmed by the Coincident Indicator (CI), published by the Central Bank. For the first half of 2019, the CI dropped two percent compared with the same period of 2018. The CI mirrors the current state of economic activity.

The construction sector plunged by 16 percent during the 12-month period ending June 2019, the largest contraction among GDP components. Wholesale and retail trade declined by eight percent.

GDP had contracted by 1.9 percent in 2018 driven by a decline in household consumption and in the construction and trade sectors, according to a report published by CAS last month.