Serbia posts strong GDP growth of 5% in 1Q20 despite coronavirus

Serbia posts strong GDP growth of 5% in 1Q20 despite coronavirus
By bne IntelliNews June 1, 2020

Serbia's economy expanded by a real 5% in the first quarter of 2020, following a 6.2% growth in the previous quarter, according to non-seasonally adjusted data released by the statistics office on June 1.

Although Serbia posted strong GDP growth in the first quarter of 2020, it is expected to fall into recession this year due to the economic consequences from the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The country declared a state of emergency in mid-March, imposing tough restrictions to contain the spread of the disease.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Serbia’s GDP is expected to decline by around 3.5% or to post a small growth.

According to seasonally adjusted GDP data, Serbia's GDP decreased by 0.6% q/q in the first quarter of 2020.

The biggest annual growth was registered in the construction sector, 19.6%, followed by the IT sector (11.8%), the sector of social care, education and health (11.8%) and the sector of wastewater management (4.5%), according to non-seasonally adjusted data.

Household final consumption increased 3.2% y/y, general government final consumption was higher by 12%, while gross fixed capital formation jumped 10.7%.

Exports of goods and services were higher by 3.1% and imports of goods and services grew by 8.3% in the first quarter.

Data

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