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Belgium: Economy records joint-best result since Q3 2022 in Q1
Second release confirms acceleration in Q1: A second release confirmed that GDP growth gained momentum to 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis in the first quarter, up from 0.2% in the fourth quarter of last year and the joint-highest rate in over two years.
On an annual basis, economic growth was stable at Q4’s 1.1% in Q1.
Investment fuels sequential uptick: Domestically, the improvement in quarter-on-quarter GDP growth was spearheaded by fixed investment, which expanded 0.6% in Q1 following the 0.4% increase logged in the prior quarter. On the flipside, private consumption growth dropped to 0.6% in Q1 (Q4 2024: +0.9% s.a. qoq). Moreover, government consumption fell 0.1% (Q4 2024: +0.7% s.a. qoq).
On the external front, exports of goods and services fell 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis in the first quarter, which was below the fourth quarter’s flat reading. In addition, imports of goods and services deteriorated, contracting 0.5% in Q1 (Q4 2024: +0.3% s.a. qoq).
