Third quarter GDP growth drops to 5.6 per cent

Growth of the economy for the third quarter of 2019 including oil fell to 5.6 compared with the 7.4 per cent recorded in the same period last year.

The non-oil GDP growth rate fell to 4.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2019 against the 8.5 per cent recorded in the same period 2018.

On the quarterly basis, the oil GDP growth rate fell slightly from 5.7 per cent in the second quarter this year to 5.6 per cent and the non-oil GDP growth rate grew to 4.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2019 from 4.3 per cent in the second quarter.

The Government Statistician, Professor Samuel K. Annim who disclosed this when he released the provisional quarterly GDP growth rates figures for the third quarter 2019, said the fall in the growth rate was influenced by the drop in the price of gold and manganese.

He said the price of gold dropped from 19 per cent in the third quarter of last year to 11 per cent in the third quarter of this year, manganese also saw a two-percentage points drop in price.

Professor Annim explained that the services sector drove the growth in the GDP rate for the third quarter of this year.

“The main sub-sectors driving the growth in the July to September 2019 GDP were Information and Communication, real estate, education, mining and quarrying and crops,” he said.

The information and Communication sub-sector increased from 9 per cent in quarter three of 2018 to 26.6 in quarter three of 2019, and the real estate sub-sector recovered from a contraction of 16.7 in quarter three of 2018 22.1 per cent in quarter three of 2019.

“The education sub-sector also increased to 9.5 per cent in quarter three of 2019 from 5.7 in the same period of 2019 and the mining and quarrying sub-sector slowed to 8.5 per cent in the quarter three of 2019 from 23.9 per cent in quarter three of 2018,” Prof Annim said.

He said agriculture sector recorded the highest growth of 5.9 per cent and industry and services sectors which expanded by 5.7 per cent.

The Government Statistician indicated that the GDP estimate at 2013 constant 2013 prices for the third quarter this year was GH?41, 512.7 million compared to GH?39, 299.4 million in the third quarter of 2018.

“The non-oil GDP at constant 2013 prices for the third quarter of 2019 was GH?37, 952.6 million compared to GH?36,272.7 million in the third quarter of 2018,” he said.

Prof Annim explained that the GDP estimate at current prices in purchaser’s value for the third quarter of 2019 was GH?85, 268.5 million compared to GH?74, 222.6 million.

“ In the third quarter of 2018 and the third quarter non-oil GDP without oil and gas, estimate at current prices for the third quarter of 2019 was GH?81, 611.1 million compared to GH?71, 760.8 million in the third quarter of 2018,” he said.

In a related development the Ghana Statistical Service with the support from the Norwegian government launched a newsletter on oil and gas investment statistics for 2019.

Prof Annim who launched the newsletter said total accrued investment and expenditure in oil and gas activity in 2017 amounted to $2.366 billion and that of 2018 stood at $2.617 billion, stressing that there was increase of 12 per cent in total expenditure in the oil and gas industry in 2018.

He said forecast investment expenditure to increase to $3.075 billion in 2019 and forecast expenditure on field development for 2019 was also projected at $1.2 billion.

Prof Annim said expenditure on field development accounted for 70 per cent and 64 per cent of total expenditure in 2017 and 2018 respectively.