Economic activity contracted more than expected during the second quarter, according to the Central Bank report.
He GDP fell 2.5% during the second quarter when compared to the same period in 2022, a decrease driven by the effects of the drought and its negative impact on the agricultural sector, according to the Quarterly National Accounts (CNT) published by the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU).
Furthermore, if economic activity is analyzed in seasonally adjusted terms, the drop was 1.4% compared to the first quarter of the year, when the GDP had increased by 0.9%, an occasion in which there was progress in almost all sectors.
In the productive sphere, the year-on-year falls in the sector stood out Agriculture, Fishing and Mining, with 27%, followed by Electric Power, Gas and Water, which reached 12%, all of them linked to the drought and the water crisis.
On the other hand, items such as Transportation and Storage, Information and Communications had a positive performance, with an increase of 2.5%; Professional Activities and Leases, with an improvement of 3.5%; and public administration activities, with an increase of 3.6%.
GDP graph.jpg
There was a decrease in external demand
On the other hand, there was a decrease in external demand that could not be compensated by the increase in internal demand. The drought also played its role due to the 6.3% year-on-year decrease in exports of goods and services, while imports increased by 7.5%. Besides, the Gross Fixed Capital Formation fell 7.6% compared to the same period last year, something linked to the completion of the construction work UPM 2.
Along these lines, it is worth noting that the Final Consumption Expenditure increased 3.9% year-on-year, while in households that figure rose to 4.8%, compared to the same period last year, while at the government level it grew 0.7%.
Source: Ambito
