Costa Rica: The economy grows at a near decade-low rate in May
Annual economic growth in cyclically-adjusted terms slowed to 1.3% in May, down from April’s revised 1.4% growth (previously reported: +1.6% year-on-year). This represented the slowest expansion since November 2009.
Growth was hampered in May by a continued decline in activity in the agriculture sector, which is struggling following a prolonged spell of dry weather, partly due to the El Niño effect. In addition, construction and mining activity both slumped in May. More positively, however, the ICT and financial sectors both posted strong activity growth in May.
In month-on-month terms adjusted for working days, economic activity increased 0.1% in May, as it did in April. Annual average growth slowed to 2.1% in May from 2.3% in April.