Costa Rica: Annual economic growth accelerates in August for the second month running
Annual economic growth in cyclically-adjusted terms accelerated to 1.6% in August from July’s revised 1.4% reading (previously reported: +1.5% year-on-year). This represents the second consecutive acceleration in growth after a long spate of sluggishness: Growth was 1.2% in June, the joint-lowest reading since just after the global financial crisis in October 2009.
Although agriculture output decreased annually in August, the decrease moderated from July and therefore weighed less on overall growth. Moreover, strong output growth from the ICT sector helped drive overall growth. Continuing to weigh on the headline reading, meanwhile, was another large fall in construction sector output, likely in part due to falling business confidence.
In month-on-month terms adjusted for working days, economic activity increased in 0.2% in August, matching July’s reading. Annual average growth, meanwhile, slowed to 1.7% in August from 1.8% in July.