Uruguay: GDP growth accelerates in Q1 2022
Economic growth gained traction in the first three months of 2022, with GDP expanding 8.3% year on year (Q4 2021: +5.9 yoy). The acceleration was partly due to a favorable base effect, as the economy contracted in Q1 2021 due to the fallout from the pandemic. That said, underlying dynamics improved at a softer pace as GDP grew a more moderate rate of 0.6% in sequential terms (Q4 2021: +2.0% s.a. qoq).
Domestically, the annual pickup came on the back of a solid expansion in fixed investment, which came in at 13.7% in the first quarter, markedly up from the 9.8% growth clocked in the prior quarter. Moreover, private consumption growth accelerated to 6.9% in Q1, up from the prior quarter’s 4.5% increase. This improvement came amid a strong favorable base effect, as the unemployment rate increased in the three-month period (Q1 2022: +7.5%; Q4 2021: +7.3%) and price pressures intensified. Conversely, government spending growth decelerated to 4.7% (Q4 2021: +6.0% yoy).
Turning to the external sector, exports of goods and services rose 23.5% year on year in Q1, slightly down from the fourth quarter’s 26.3%. Similarly, imports of goods and services growth also eased slightly to 16.6% (Q4 2021: +25.5% yoy).