Kazakhstan’s GDP growth in January-July 2018 reached 4%. It was said at the meeting of the Government on August 14 which reviewed the results of the country’s economic development for the first 7 months of 2018.
Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov reported that the main impetus to the growth of the economy was given by the weakening of inflationary pressure, high investment activity and the preservation of positive dynamics in the main sectors of the economy.
Inflation is maintained at a three-year minimum. From the beginning of the year it was 2.7%, with annual inflation of 5.9%.
As of August 1, the country’s international reserves amounted to $87.7 billion, including assets of the National Fund at $56.8 billion, gold and foreign currency reserves at $30.9 billion.
Industrial production increased by 5.1%. The largest contribution to the growth of industrial activity was made by extractive industries. The output of the mining industry increased by 5.4%. The driving force was the oil production (6.1%), gas (6.4%) and iron ore (7.4%).
The manufacturing industry growth was 4.9%. The highest growth was shown by machine building — 16%. Growth was provided by industries with more complex production components. These include automobile industry (58.5%), the production of electrical equipment (47.2%) and electronic and optical products (45.7%).
There is a steady growth in the chemical industry (10.9%), oil refining (4.4%), metallurgy (3.6%), and paper production (10.1%).
The output of agricultural products increased by 3.5%. The growth of services was 3.8%.
According to the minister, high production activity had a positive impact on labor market indicators. Since the beginning of this year, 297,100 people have been employed. The unemployment rate was 4.9%.
According to preliminary data, Kazakhstan’s foreign trade for January-May 2018 amounted to $35.6 billion and increased by 18% compared to the same period of 2017, including exports — $23.3 billion (an increase of 22.3%) and imports — $12.3 billion (10.7% growth).
