Angola's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.6% in Q1 2022, year-on-year, with the oil sector performing positively for the first time since the first quarter of 2016, writes Notícias ao Minuto.

According to data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) of Angola, Petroleum 1.9%, the Gross Value Added of Petroleum had a growth of 1.9%, in the 1st quarter of 2022 in relation to the homologous quarter, contributing positively in 0.47 percentage points, in the total variation of the GDP.

The INE justifies this growth with several factors, among them the increase in demand from Europe and India "due to the gradual normalization of people's way of life" and the attempted coup d'état in Kazakhstan associated with the reduction in the amount produced by Libya that drove the increase in demand for oil in West Africa, including Angolan crude.

All non-oil sectors grew, year-on-year, except for diamonds and financial intermediation.

Agriculture and Forestry had a year-on-year change of 3.0%, in Q1 2022, which was due to the increase in the production of agricultural crops and livestock, while Fishing had a year-on-year increase of 5.4%, due to the slight increase in catch in the period in reference.

In an opposite sign, the retraction in the order of 14.7% in Financial Intermediation and Insurance stands out, motivated by the drop in income from commercial banks (about 15%).

The diamond sector, on the other hand, saw a sharp drop of 28.3% in Q1 2022 year-on-year justified by the suspension of the Socomar terminal, increased port tariffs, and instability in the product's source markets associated with the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Manufacturing advanced 2.0%, reflecting the positive variation of around 11% in production in the food industry, particularly in the milling, pasta and bakery products sector which weighs more than 60% in the total industrial sectors.

The Transport sector increased by 31.3%, reflecting an exponential growth in the airline sub-sector, as a result of the increase in flight frequencies, due to the easing of measures to combat covid-19, and on the other hand, the entry into operation of new operators in the urban transport service in Luanda.

Telecommunication Gross Value Added rose 2.41TP2Q, due to increased production of Telecommunication Tariff Units (TEU) driven by higher consumption of communications services, associated with the entry of the new company Africell into the domestic market.

The Gross Value Added of Electricity had an increase of 2.5%, Construction registered a growth of 4.1%, due to the slight increase in construction materials of domestic and imported origin, and Commerce an increase of 1.6 %, with significant increases in agricultural production, fishing and manufactured goods for this activity.

The Government's Gross Value Added rose by 7.2% as a result of the public sector increasing the amount of remuneration declared compared to the same period in the previous year, as well as the upgrades, phased promotions of the different categories and the entry of civil servants.

In the case of real estate, the growth of 2.9%, is justified by the fact that the population growth rate is used, as well as the offer of properties in the resolutable rent modality

The Gross Value Added of Other services registered a growth of 4.8%, associated with the significant increase in the hotel and restaurant business, with greater weight in this category.

In quarterly terms, the GDP grew 4.3% from the 4th quarter of 2021 to the 1st quarter of 2022, taking into account the seasonally adjusted series.

The activities that contributed positively to the variation of the GDP in the first quarter of 2022 in relation to the previous quarter were: Oil Extraction and Refining 4.93 percentage points (p.p); Electricity and Water 0.004 p.p; Construction 4.69 p.p; Post and Telecommunications 0.58 p.p; Financial Intermediation 0.56 p.p; Public Administration 0.41 p.p and Other Services 0.31 p.p. (Notícias ao Minuto)