Bahrain GDP falls 8.9% in Q2 amid Covid-19 impact

Bahrain's gross domestic product (GDP) saw a decrease of 8.9% at constant prices on an annual basis in the second quarter of 2020 amid Covid-19 impact, said a report. 

A Cabinet meeting, chaired buy His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, reviewed the Bahrain Economic Quarterly Report for Q2, presented by the Minister of Finance and National Economy, said a Bahrain News Agency report. 

The report reflected the economic performance of the kingdom’s key economic sectors in light of the exceptional circumstances posed by the global spread of Covid-19. 

The oil and gas sector registered an annual growth rate of 3.2% at constant prices, and the non-oil sector recorded a decline in annual growth of 11.5% in constant prices. The government services sector, the kingdom’s third biggest non-oil sector in terms of the percentage of contribution to the GDP, registered slight growth of 0.1% which was driven by the increase in government expenditure addressing the global pandemic. The electricity and water sector also registered 34.9% growth.

Indicators further revealed that the non-oil sectors contributing most to the GDP  are the financial projects sector (16.8%), the manufacturing industries sector (14.4%) and the government services sector (14.3%). 

According to competitiveness indicators, Bahrain ranked second in the Arab world and first in the Gulf region as the most free economy in the 2020 Index of Economic Freedom issued by the Fraser Institute, which measures the extent to which institutions and policies support economic freedom in 162 countries around the world, the report said.

Source: http://www.tradearabia.com/news/BANK_373298.html