Denmark: GDP growth wanes in Q3
A second national accounts release confirmed that the Danish economy beat market expectations of a shallow contraction in the third quarter of 2022 and tallied an expansion. GDP growth edged down to 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis in Q3. The reading marked a deceleration in underlying momentum from the 0.8% growth clocked in the second quarter. Meanwhile, on an annual basis, economic growth waned to 3.4% in Q3, following the previous quarter’s 3.8% expansion. Q3’s reading—which came in below the preliminary estimate of a 3.6% expansion—marked the slowest growth since Q1 2021.
Domestically, the quarterly moderation was chiefly driven by government consumption falling at a steeper pace of 0.9% in Q3 (Q2: -0.3% s.a. qoq). Meanwhile, private consumption dropped at a milder rate of 0.2% seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, which marked the best reading since Q4 2021 (Q2: -2.2% s.a. qoq). Consumption continued to suffer from the acceleration of price pressures. That said, slightly stronger wage growth in the quarter, compounded by a 0.5% increase in employment levels, should have provided some support to household budgets, preventing a larger fall. More positively, fixed investment bounced back, growing 0.8% in Q3 and contrasting the 0.4% decrease in the prior quarter.
The external front contributed to overall growth; exports of goods and services growth slowed to 2.6% in Q3 (Q2: +3.1% s.a. qoq). Meanwhile, imports of goods and services deteriorated, contracting 0.2% in Q3 (Q2: +2.3% s.a. qoq).