June 15 (SeeNews) - Moldova's economic output fell by an annual 2.2% in real adjusted terms in the first quarter of 2023, mainly due to poor performance in the electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply sector as well as the manufacturing sector, the statistical office said on Thursday.
In unadjusted terms, Moldova's economy contracted by an annual 2.4% in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.
Moldova's gross domestic product (GDP) totalled 63.7 billion lei ($3.6 billion/3.3 billion euro) at current prices in the first quarter of 2023.
Compared to the previous quarter, Moldova's GDP grew by seasonally-adjusted 1.1% in the January-March period.
The gross value added in the economy fell 3.4% on the year in the first quarter, shaving 2.9 percentage points off the country's GDP. The electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply sector along with the manufacturing, wholesale and retail and construction sectors were negative contributors to Moldova's GDP. Conversely, health and social insurance activities, as well as the information and communication and real estate sectors had a positive contribution to GDP.
Final household consumption fell 2.6% year-on-year in the first quarter, while gross fixed capital formation decreased by 0.4% on the year. Net exports were also a negative contributor, slicing 1.3 pp off Moldova's GDP.
Moldova's economy contracted by 5.9% in real terms in 2022, compared to 13.9% growth in the previous year. The country's 2023 budget targets economic growth of 2%.
Earlier this month, the World Bank said that Moldova's economy is expected to grow by 1.8% in 2023 and by 4.2% in 2024.
(1 euro =19.2618 Moldovan lei)