September 14 (SeeNews) - Bosnia and Herzegovina's economy expanded by an estimated 14.7% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2021, the country's central bank said.
The real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in the first half of 2021 is estimated at 8%, the central bank said in a statement on Monday.
The monthly indicators of economic activity, especially retail trade, industrial production and exports, point to a historically high growth of the economy in the second quarter, the central bank noted.
Moreover, official July figures show that the economic activity in the third quarter could be stronger than expected, making an upward revision of the annual GDP growth rate more certain.
In its spring projection, the central bank said it expects Bosnia's GDP to grow by 3.4% in 2021.
Negative risks are still related to the uncertainty of the duration of the pandemic and the epidemiological situation, but the risks related to the speed of vaccination are less pronounced than in the previous projection period.
The central bank expects to see stronger inflationary pressures by the end of the year, forecasting annual inflation of 1.2% in 2021.
Bosnia's statistical office is expected to release its first estimate of GDP data for the second quarter on September 30.