Lithuania: GDP swings back to contraction in Q4 2020 amid second lockdown
GDP fell 1.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to preliminary data released by Statistics Lithuania on 29 January. The result contrasted the 0.1% uptick logged in the third quarter. Meanwhile, in seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms, GDP growth slowed to 1.2% from 3.8% in Q3, which had marked the best result on record. For the year as a whole, the economy shrank 0.9%, marking the first contraction since the 2009 global financial crisis when output collapsed at a staggering pace, and contrasting the 4.3% expansion recorded in 2019.
The fourth quarter’s decline in activity was primarily driven by a second round of lockdown measures that were put into place in November and December to address rapidly rising Covid-19 cases, impacting the hospitality and leisure sectors the most.
More detailed national accounts data will be released on 1 March.