Costa Rica: Economic activity growth slows in October for fifth month running
Annual working-day adjusted growth in economic activity slowed to 2.1% in October from 2.3% in September (previously reported: + 2.5% year-on-year). This is according to the monthly index of economic activity (IMAE, Indice Mensual de Actividad Económica) published by the Central Bank.
Growth in October was once again led by the construction sector, as it continued to recover from the downturn in 2017, although its rate of expansion slowed for the second consecutive month. In addition, a strong growth reading was recorded in the ICT sector. On the other hand, contractions were recorded in three out of 14 economic sectors in October: The mining and quarrying, public administration, and education and healthcare sectors.
In month-on-month terms when adjusted for working days, economic activity increased 0.1% in October, up from September’s no-change result. Year-on-year annual average growth remained stable at 2.9% in October.