June 15 (SeeNews) - Moldova's economy expanded by an annual 0.9% in real terms in the first quarter of 2020, with wholesale and retail being the main growth drivers, the country's statistical office said on Monday.
Calculated at current prices, Moldova's gross domestic product (GDP) totalled 43.6 billion lei ($2.5 billion/2.2 billion euro) in the first quarter, the statistical office said in a statement.
Quarter-on-quarter, Moldova's GDP grew by seasonally-adjusted 0.5% in the January-March period.
The gross value added in the economy edged up by 1.1% on the year in the first quarter, mainly boosted by the construction, real estate and IT sectors.
Final household consumption fell by 1.4% year-on-year in the first quarter. Gross fixed-capital formation increased 9.3% on the year.
Exports fell by an annual 7.8%, while imports increased by 2.3% in the first quarter.
Moldova's economy expanded by 3.6% in real terms in 2019, driven mainly by wholesale and retail trade.
Earlier this month, the World Bank said that it expects Moldova's economic output to decrease by 3.1% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, downgrading its previous forecast for a 0.1% contraction made in April.
(1 euro =19.475 Moldovan lei)