Latvia: Growth dips to over three-year low in Q4 2019
Annual GDP growth slumped to 1.1% in the final quarter of 2019, according to preliminary national accounts data released by Latvia’s Statistical Institute on 31 January. The fourth-quarter result marked a significant deceleration from the third quarter’s 2.9% increase and the weakest expansion since Q3 2016. The downturn chiefly reflected faltering activity in the all-important manufacturing sector.
Meanwhile, in seasonally- and working-day adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms, the economy rose just 0.2% in the fourth quarter, slowing from 0.6% in the third quarter and marking the softest increase since Q1 2019.