Costa Rica: Economy contracts sharply for second consecutive month in April
Economic activity decreased 5.7% in year-on-year terms in April, down from the revised 5.5% decrease recorded in March, according to the Central Bank of Costa Rica’s monthly activity index.
April’s print marked the sharpest annual decrease since current records began in January 1991 and was due to the effects of the lockdown measures authorities imposed in March to arrest the spread of coronavirus, coupled with the concurrent global economic downturn.
In terms of sectors, the accommodation and food services; transport and storage; and mining sectors all suffered the sharpest, double-digit downturns in April. The only sector to register an improvement in April over March was the ICT sector, which grew 6.2% in April, up from 6.0% in March.
On a working-day adjusted monthly basis, economic activity was broadly unchanged in April, after falling 7.5% in March. Meanwhile, annual average growth nearly halved to 0.8% in April, down from 1.4% in March.