Estonia: GDP growth accelerates marginally in Q4

According to the flash estimate released by Statistics Estonia (SE) on 11 February, the Estonian economy expanded 0.9% in Q4 2015 over the same quarter last year. The result marked a slight acceleration from the 0.7% growth tallied in Q3. According to SE, growth was driven by positive tax movement. Economic growth, on the other hand, was constrained by a disappointing performance of the external sector as foreign demand for mineral products and electrical equipment fell in the fourth quarter.

In seasonally- and working-day adjusted terms, GDP increased 1.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q4, which contrasted the 0.4% drop tallied in the third quarter. More detailed data for national accounts will be released on 10 March.

The Central Bank expects GDP growth to reach 2.2% in 2016 and 3.1% in 2017. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast participants see the economy growing 1.9% in 2015, which is unchanged from last month’s estimate. In 2016, economic growth is expected to accelerate to 2.7%, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast.