Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in real terms, registered a year-on-year rate of change of 11.9% in the first quarter of 2022 (5.9% in the previous quarter). This evolution in year-on-year terms reflects a base effect, since, in January and February 2021, several measures to mitigate the pandemic were in place that conditioned economic activity. The contribution of domestic demand to the year-on-year rate of change of GDP increased in the first quarter of 2022, reflecting in particular the more intense growth of private consumption. The positive contribution of net external demand to the year-on-year rate of change of GDP also increased, as Imports of Goods and Services in volume slowed down, while Exports of Goods and Services accelerated, reflecting the rebound in tourism activities. In the first quarter of 2022, the loss in terms of trade was more intense than in the three previous quarters, as the deflator of Imports increased markedly.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, GDP increased by 2.6% in volume (1.7% in the previous quarter), with a more intense contribution of domestic demand to the quarter-on-quarter rate of change of GDP, partly due to the acceleration of private consumption, while the contribution of net external demand remained slightly positive.