(QCOSTARICA) For the eleventh consecutive month economic activity continued to lose strength, recording in April a growth rate of just 1.68% compared to the same month in 2014.
From a statement issued by the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR):
In the first quarter of 2015 (I-trim-15); the country’s production, measured by the cycle trend of the Monthly Economic Activity Index (IMAE), recorded an average variation of 2.0%, lower by 1.7 percentage points (pp) than the figures observed in the same period in 2014.
Most industries showed slower growth in production; where manufacturing and agriculture, with a weight of 36.2% in the general indicator, reversed the growth seen in the previous year. Additionally, the service industry while growing, is decelerating faster than the rate observed in the general indicator (6 service industries). On the other hand; acceleration was observed in construction activity compared to the first quarter of 2014; which is more than offset by the slowdown in the above industries, and as a result, the overall indicator shows a slowdown.
In March, the annual rate was 1.7%: This growth is explained by the performance of agriculture and manufacturing, which showed negative rates. In addition, he influenced the slower growth in much of the rest of service industries; situation which has led to an average slowdown of 0.3% in the first quarter of this year.
Source: Centralamericandata.com
