In the first quarter of 2021, GDP was down 2.2 percent on an annual basis, according to the first estimate. The seasonally and working day adjusted rate of decrease was 1.8 percent, which is still worse than in the majority of EU member states, but the quarter-on-quarter growth rate – 1.9 percent – is, by contrast, is outstanding in comparison with the other EU countries.
The continuing year-on-year decline was primarily driven by a significant fall in services (with probably trade, food services and tourist accommodation and real estate services being the main culprits), while industrial output achieved positive growth in the first quarter. On the expenditure side, consumption probably contracted severely, while much of the improvement in the external trade of goods may have been offset by the continuing deterioration in the external trade of services.
Still, the fact that the GDP continued to expand on a quarterly basis, corroborates the expectation that the annual growth rate will surpass 4.5 percent, even to what extent is still an open question.
