MAY 2022 42 The upward trend in prices continues Economic activity In the 1st quarter of 2022, according to the flash estimate of the Quarterly National Accounts: • Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in real terms, registered a year-on-year rate of change of 11.9% (5.9% in the previous quarter); The year-on-year rate of change partly reflects a base effect, given that in January and February 2021 several measures were in place to fight the pandemic, which strongly conditioned economic activity; • The contribution of domestic demand to the year-on-year rate of change in GDP increased, with private consumption growing more strongly; • The positive contribution of net external demand to the year-on-year rate of change in GDP also increased: » A slowdown in the volume of Imports of Goods and Services; » A slight acceleration of Exports of Goods and Services, reflecting the recovery of the tourism activity; • The loss in terms of trade was more intense than in the previous three quarters as a result of the pronounced growth in the import deflator; • Compared to the 4th quarter of 2021, GDP increased by 2.6% in volume (quarter-on-quarter growth of 1.7% in the previous quarter); The quarter-on-quarter acceleration of GDP was determined by the increasingly positive contribution of domestic demand, reflecting the acceleration of private consumption, mainly due to the growth of expenditure in various service activities, after the lifting of most restrictions oneconomic activity imposed in the context of theCOVID-19 pandemic. The contribution of net external demand remained slightly positive. The short-term indicators for economic activity in the production perspective available for March 2022, compared to March 2021: • They continue to point to high growth in nominal terms, with acceleration in Industry and a slowdown in Services; • They show, in real terms, a slowdown in Construction and a slightly positive change in Industry, after the decreases registered in the two previous months. The economic activity indicator1 slowed down in March, after having accelerated in January and February. It should be noted that the evolution in the first two months of the year partly reflected a base effect, given that several measures to fight the pandemic were in force in January and February 2021, imposing restrictions on economic activity. The economic climate indicator increased slightly in April, after having decreased in March. 1 The economic activity indicator summarises a set of quantitative indicators that reflect developments in the economy.
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