Economic growth up 2.7% in Q1

Croatia's economic growth in Q1 was up 2.7% compared to the same period last year, a faster growth than recorded in the quarter preceding it and higher than had been expected.

The State Bureau of Statistics (DZS) on Tuesday released its preliminary estimate according to which Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose by 2.7% in Q1 in comparison with Q1 last year.

That is a better figure than had been expected. Eight analysts polled by Hina had estimated that economic growth would be an average 2.4% on the year. Their estimates ranged from 2% to 2.8%.

This is the sixth quarter in a row that GDP has increased and this quarter it was faster than the quarter preceding it, when economic growth was 1.9%.

The DZS reported that the greatest contribution to the growth in GDP was made by commodity exports, which increased by 9.4%.

The contribution of domestic demand was positive (2.8 percentage points) and this was mostly due to household consumption.

The contribution of net foreign demand was negative.

The other more significant components of GDP also increased, with state expenditure increasing by 0.6% while gross investments in fixed capital jumped by 4.3% and household consumption by 3.1%.

According to seasonally adjusted data, GDP strengthened by 0.6% in Q1 in comparison with Q4 2015 and by 2.3% on the year.

(Text: Hina)

News