Belarus: Industrial production growth surges to a fresh multi-year high in February
Industrial production growth accelerated from January’s robust 9.7% expansion to 10.9% in February, marking the strongest reading since June 2012. As a result, annual average industrial production growth jumped to 7.3% in the month, significantly above the 6.4% recorded in January, and the highest reading in over five years.
Industrial production rose 10.3% year-on-year in the January–February period. The record growth was primarily driven by the manufacturing sector’s robust performance. Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, and machinery and equipment n.e.c. jumped over one-fourth year-on-year and were the principal drivers of the double-digit expansion of the overall manufacturing industry.
Meanwhile, both the electricity, gas, steam, hot water and conditioning supply; and water supply, waste management and remediation activities sectors rebounded from contractions in January to expand moderately in February, leading to positive annual growth in the January–February period. Mining and quarrying output also rose in February, compared to January’s flat growth, resulting in a marginal expansion in the first two months of this year over the same period of 2017.