Estonian economy expands less than estimate
08.06.2012, 15:42Commenting the news that Estonia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.6% year-on-year in the 1st quarter of 2012 or 0.3 percentage points less compared to the estimation published a month earlier, the Ministry of Finance noted in its flash comment that the extent of the slowdown of the GDP growth was rather expected, reports news2biz.
The ministry said that despite the downward correction economic growth still somewhat exceeded expectations.
The ministry's analytical department also reported that it sees no reason to adjust its prediction of the GDP rise by 1.7% y-o-y in 2012 either way so far.
The construction, trade and ICT sectors contributed the most to the growth, while the share of manufacturing, real estate and healthcare dropped in the GDP in yearly comparison.
The exports of goods rose by 7% y-o-y in Q1 2012 and that of services by 6%, while the imports of goods and services grew by 9% and 14%, respectively. For the first time since 2008, the imports exceeded exports.
Compared to the previous quarter, the economy expanded by 0.3% in the 1st quarter of 2012, workday and seasonally adjusted.
Estonian GDP change y-o-y:
Q1 2012: 3.6%
Q4 2011: 4.5%
Q3 2011: 8.5%
Q2 2011: 8.4%
Q1 2011: 8.5%
Q4 2010: 6.7%
Q3 2010: 5.0%
Q2 2010: 3.1%
Q1 2010: -2.6%