Belarus industrial production plunged by 5.8% y/y in January

Belarus industrial production plunged by 5.8% y/y in January
After remaining stable at around 1% in 2019 industry production in Belarus plunged by 5.8% year-on-year in January / bne IntelliNews
By bne IntelliNews February 18, 2020

The industry production in Belarus plunged by 5.8% year-on-year in January, according to the national statistics agency Belstat.

Specifically, industrial output in mining and quarrying shrank by 3.6% y/y in January, in manufacturing by 10.5% y/y.

The nation's GDP declined by 1.9% y/y in January due to the energy dispute with Russia as well as crisis in the nation's potash industry.

The Belarusian economy grew by 1.2% y/y in 2019, according to national statistics agency Belstat. The Belarusian government forecasted earlier a 4% y/y growth last year.

Belarus faces shortages of Russian oil for its two refineries, as Moscow halted crude supplies to Belarus on January 1 after a contract expired, and the two countries are in negotiations over a new agreement. Minsk said later in January that it had secured a temporary limited solution on shipment from Russian oligarch Mikhail Gutseriev's company Safmar, without paying a premium. In past years Belarus bought oil on terms similar to those for Russian independent refineries, which involved a small premium.

On January 24, Lukashenko pledged to purchase crude oil "in Americas, Saudi Arabia, UAE" following Moscow's refusal to deliver oil to the post-Soviet nation in 2020 on Minsk's terms.
 

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