Belarus: Economic recovery picks up pace
April 18, 2018
The economy continued to gain momentum in the first quarter of this year, with growth accelerating for the fourth consecutive quarter. According to a preliminary estimate released by National Statistical Committee (Belstat) on 18 April, GDP surged 5.1% over the same period of 2017, notably above third quarter’s 4.3%, marking the strongest expansion in over six years.
In Q1 2017, the Belarusian economy emerged from a two-year recession, largely on the back of buoyant industrial production and a stabilizing monetary environment. Although a detail breakdown of growth drivers for Q1 of this year is not yet available, the expansion was seemingly led by a double-digit expansion of manufacturing output, a buoyant external sector and robust domestic demand, which was spurred by a sustained easing of inflationary pressures at the beginning of 2018.
Belarus GDP Forecast
FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect the economy to grow 2.5% in 2018, which is up 0.4 percentage points from last month’s projection. For 2019, the panel sees GDP increasing 2.0%.
Author: Almanas Stanapedis, Research Team Manager