NBS: Serbia's Q1 real GDP growth revised upwards from 0.7 pct to 0.9 pct

BELGRADE - Serbia's real GDP growth in Q2 2023 was at 1.7 pct y-o-y, in line with a flash estimate, and real GDP growth for Q1 2023 was revised upwards from 0.7 pct to 0.9 pct y-o-y, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) said on Friday.

"Industrial production picked up in July by 2.7 pct, led by the growth in energy (12.6 pct y-o-y) and manufacturing (1.0 pct y-o-y), while mining exerted a dampening effect, having dropped by 0.5 pct y-o-y," the NBS said in a statement, quoting figures released by the national statistical office.

"Within manufacturing, growth was recorded in 13 out of 24 branches, with the strongest contributions coming from base metals, pharmaceutical products and computers and electronic products.

In the January–July 2023 period, industrial production increased by 1.9 pct y-o-y, driven by the energy sector (16.3 pct y-o-y), while activity in mining and manufacturing contracted by 0.5 pct and 0.7 pct y-o-y, respectively.

Within services, real retail trade turnover continued down. It fell by 3.2 pct y-o-y in July and by 4.7 pct y-o-y in the January–July period. The total number of tourist arrivals went up by 9.7 pct and overnight stays by 6.8 pct y-o-y. In the year to July, the total number of tourist arrivals was higher by 13.1 pct y-o-y and of overnight stays by 9.8 pct.

Turning to external trade, goods exports in euro terms edged up by 0.6 pct y-o-y in July, while imports contracted by 6.7 pct y-o-y. Export growth reflects rising manufacturing and electricity exports, while the decline in goods imports is mostly attributable to the lower energy imports, due mainly to lower energy prices," the NBS said.

"According to the Labour Force survey, the unemployment rate returned to a single-digit level in Q2 2023 (9.6 pct), having fallen by 0.5 pp from Q1, while the employment rate rose by 0.8 pp q-o-q to 50.4 pct," it also said.