May 14 (SeeNews) - Croatia's economic output is estimated to have fallen by 3.7% in annual terms in the first quarter, the Institute of Economics Zagreb (EIZ), a local think-tank, said.
Compared to the last quarter of 2020, Croatia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by an estimated 3.3% in the three months through March 2021, EIZ said in a monthly review of its Coincident Economic Index (CEIZ) index published on Thursday.
The estimated annual fall in Croatia's GDP in the first three months of 2021 is partly due to the partial economic lockdown in the period and because of the economic growth recorded in the first quarter of 2020, before epidemiological measures were implemented, EIZ said.
The index movements show that the economic activity strongly accelerated in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the previous three-month period, suggesting a continuation of gradual economic recovery which started in the summer months of last year, EIZ added.
In March alone, CEIZ index recorded an increase of 4.6 index points in annual terms and a rise of 3.5 index points compared to February.
Croatia's economic output declined by a real 8.4% last year, compared with 2019, the country's statistical office said in its first estimate of the country's economic performance in February.