ESTONIA: Economy expands by 2% y-o-y in 2nd quarter

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Estonia's GDP grew by 2% in the 2nd quarter of 2012 compared to the same period previous year, according to the preliminary calculations of the statistical office Eesti Statistika. The growth precentage corresponded to the predictions of the national bank Eesti Pank and the Ministry of Finance, while the analysts from commercial banks had somewhat higher expectations in average.

The main driving factors behind the economic growth in the 2nd quarter appeared to be the construction, ITC and administrative sectors, which increased the most in terms of value added in yearly comparison. At the same time, the real estate sector experienced a drop in value added, slowing down the economic growth.

The manufacturing industry, which was the major engine behind the GDP growth last year, has not contributed equally to the economy this year. In Q1, the value added in manufacturing dropped in yearly comparison; however, in Q2, the sector has somewhat recovered with its value added being on par with the same quarter previous year.

As the manufacturing industry, especially the electronics production, is also the main contributor to Estonia's exports, the expansion of the latter has slowed down as well. In Q2, the exports increased by 4% year-on-year.

Eesti Statistika publishes revised calculations of the GDP in the 2nd quarter on 7 September.

Estonian GDP change y-o-y:

Q2 2012: 2.0%
Q1 2012: 3.6%

Q4 2011: 4.5%
Q3 2011: 8.5%
Q2 2011: 8.4%
Q1 2011: 8.5%

Q4 2010: 6.7%
Q3 2010: 5.0%
Q2 2010: 3.1%
Q1 2010: -2.6%