Azerbaijan economy contracted 3.9% y/y in 9M16
In 9M16, real GDP declined 3.9% y/y, more than the 3.1% y/y contraction recorded in 8M16. Non-oil GDP was down 6.1% y/y, compared to a 5.8% y/y decline in 1H16, while oil GDP was up 0.9% y/y. The main drag on growth continued to be the construction sector, down 32.0% y/y in 9M16. Excluding the construction sector, non-oil GDP was down 0.6% y/y.
Consolidated budget surplus at 5.4% of GDP
Higher than budgeted revenues and lower expenditures resulted in AZN 1.3bn surplus, corresponding to 5.4% of GDP, compared to a 3.7% deficit in 9M15. Non-oil deficit narrowed from a 31.5% of non-oil GDP in 9M15 to 18.8% of non-oil GDP in 9M16.
Oil and gas production down in September 2016
Oil production was down 11.4% y/y to 3.1mn tons in September 2016, while gross gas production was down 11.4% y/y to 2.3bcm, according to AzSTAT. Commercially available gas was down 11.7% y/y to 1.4bcm.
In 9M16, oil production was down 0.5% y/y to 31.3mn tons, while gross gas production was up 1.7% y/y to 22.1bcm. However, commercially available gas volume was down 4.5% y/y to 13.8bcm in 9M16.
Non-mineral exports and total imports down in September 2016
According to Customs Committee’s figures, non-mineral exports were down 3.3% y/y to US$ 93.1mn in September 2016, while total imports were down 1.3% y/y to US$ 672.7mn. Contraction in non-mineral exports was driven by a 44.7% decline in foodstuff exports. Strong positive contribution came from a 140.5% y/y increase in metals exports. Imports were contained due to major declines in metal (53.1% y/y) and machinery (36.0% y/y) imports, while significant increases in vegetable (160.1% y/y), mineral product (124.0% y/y), and foodstuff (42.7% y/y) imports had the opposite impact.
In 9M16, non-mineral exports were down 28.7% y/y to US$ 0.8bn, while imports were down 4.9% y/y to US$ 6.3bn.
