September 17 (SeeNews) - Moldova's economy expanded by 5.2% year-on-year in real terms in the second quarter of 2018, mainly on the back of the successful performance of the wholesale and retail sector, the country's statistical office said on Monday.
The country's gross domestic product (GDP) totalled 44.16 billion lei ($2.6 billion/2.3 billion euro) at current prices in the three months through June, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.
Quarter-on-quarter, Moldova's GDP grew by 1.7%, according to seasonally adjusted data.
Growth in the second quarter was mainly boosted by the wholesale and retail sector, which expanded by 1.9% year-on-year. The mining sector grew by 1.4% on the year, while the construction sector added 0.8%.
Final household consumption in Moldova grew by 2.8%, while gross fixed-capital formation rose 2.4% on the year in the second quarter.
Moldova's economy grew by a revised 3.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2018.
In the first half of 2018, Moldova's GDP expanded by a real 4.5% year-on-year, reaching 81.75 billion lei. The wholesale and retail sectors led the rise, and final household consumption grew 3.3% on the year.
Moldova has forecast 3.0% economic growth and a budget deficit equivalent to 2.8% of GDP in its 2018 budget bill.
The country's economy expanded by 4.5% in real terms in 2017, mainly on the back of successful performance of the agriculture, wholesale and retail sectors.
(1 euro=19.5084 Moldovan lei)