The economy in the first quarter of 2023 (Q1) expanded at a sturdy pace, the country’s central bank said in the June 2023 quarterly bulletin.
Year-on-year real gross domestic product in Q1 came in at 5%, according to the bulletin released recently.
The bulletin revealed that in the primary industry, buoyant growth was recorded in the mining and quarrying sector during the first quarter of 2023 owing to higher production of diamonds, uranium, gold, and zinc concentrate, whereas the pace of growth slowed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector.
Furthermore, growth slowed in the secondary industry on the back of a contraction in the manufacturing sector, offsetting the strong growth in the electricity and water sector as well as a slight recovery in the construction sector.
Meanwhile according to the bulletin, in the tertiary industry contractions were recorded in the financial services and public administration, and defense sectors, but strong growth was registered in the wholesale and retail as well as the tourism and transport sectors.
In terms of inflation, during the period under review, the inflation rate rose slightly every quarter during the first quarter of 2023 on the back of higher food and housing inflation.
“Inflation rose to 7.1% during the first quarter of 2023, compared to 7% in the previous quarter. The rise in inflation was predominantly driven by an increase in the inflation for food, which rose to 14.2 % mainly on account of the Russia-Ukraine war, the weaker exchange rate, and housing which ticked higher to 2.9% due to the annual upward adjustment in rental prices,” the report concluded.
