Belarus: Industrial production improves in February

In February, industrial production fell 3.9% over the same month last year, marking an improvement compared to the 6.8% contraction recorded in January. According to the National Statistical Committee (BELSTAT), mining and quarrying swung to expansion in February, while sharp contractions were recorded in manufacturing as well as in water supply, waste management and remediation activities.

Meanwhile, annual average growth in industrial production inched up from minus 6.7% in January to minus 6.5% in February.

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast participants see industrial production contracting 0.8% in 2016, which is down 0.5 percentage points from last month’s Consensus. For 2017, panelists see industrial output growing 1.3%.