Suahasil Nazara, Chief of the Fiscal Policy Agency of the Finance Ministry, has predicted that economic growth in the second quarter of 2019 will be around 5.05 to 5.15 per cent.
“We predict 5.05 to 5.15 percent, or better than the first quarter of 2019,” he said at a press conference on Friday.
Suahasil attributed the improved economic performance to large household consumption from increased public spending during the 2019 Eid-al-Fitri period. Non-profit institutions driving household consumption have also contributed towards the economy, following increased activities during the 2019 presidential election. The investment sector, which has slowed down during the first quarter of 2019, will also have a positive impact.
“We noted investments to be slowing down a little because of the election. So investors decided to ‘wait and see’ until the election had finished. But we hope, starting in June, there will be contributions from investments,” he stated. However, he projected that the economic performance in 2019 would not be as high as the same period in 2018, when the growth rate reached 5.27 per cent.
Earlier, the National Statistics Agency revealed that the economy had grown by 5.07 per cent in the first quarter of 2019. Current household consumption is also recorded at a level of 5.01 per cent, which is better than the first quarter rates in 2017 and 2018, at below 5 per cent.
Source: Tempo
Image: The Daily Star