In its recent announcement, the National Bank of Serbia revealed that the gross domestic product (GDP) experienced a real growth rate of 4.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, slightly surpassing the initial estimate of 4.6 percent year-on-year provided earlier.
The industrial production data for January to April of this year indicated an annual growth rate of 2.9 percent. This growth was primarily propelled by the mining sector, which saw a 6.1 percent increase, and the processing industry, which recorded a growth of 3.9 percent. However, the energy sector witnessed a decline of 3.3 percent, partially attributed to a base effect. Notably, industrial production for April 2024 alone also saw an increase of 2.9 percent year-on-year. The processing industry and mining contributed to this growth with year-on-year increases of 6.6 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively. Conversely, the energy sector experienced a year-on-year decrease of 15 percent in April.
The National Bank of Serbia highlighted positive growth in 20 out of 24 branches within the manufacturing industry. Major contributions came from the production of metal products, computers, electronic products, and the food industry. However, the production of oil derivatives had a significant negative impact, largely due to ongoing maintenance at the Pancevo refinery.
Retail trade turnover for April 2024 showed a real increase of 11.1 percent compared to the same month the previous year, with a cumulative year-on-year increase of eight percent for the period from January to April.
Tourism data indicated a 7.1 percent year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals in April, accompanied by a 9.1 percent increase in the total number of overnight stays. From January to April 2024, tourist arrivals increased by nine percent year-on-year, with overnight stays rising by 6.3 percent.
Regarding foreign trade, goods exports in euros increased by 10.1 percent year-on-year in April, while goods imports in euros grew by 15.8 percent year-on-year. Export growth was attributed to increased exports from the processing industry, agriculture, and mining. Conversely, import growth was driven by higher imports of capital goods and consumer products.
The National Bank of Serbia also noted positive trends in employment. The unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2024 decreased to 9.4 percent, down by 0.6 percentage points from the same period in 2023. Concurrently, the employment rate increased by 1.4 percentage points to reach 50.9 percent, marking its highest level to date.
