Steady economic performance in August

KAZAKHSTAN - In Brief 13 Sep 2024 by Evgeny Gavrilenkov

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According to the Bureau of National Statistics, the short-term indicator that captures economic activity in industry, agriculture, construction, communications, trade, and transportation combined with warehousing grew by 4.4% y-o-y in 8M24 (up from 4.1% y-o-y in 7M24). Construction was the fastest growing segment (8.8%), followed by transportation and warehousing (7.7%), and then by communications (7.4%). The trade segment delivered 5.5% growth, of which 6.8% originated from retail sales and 4.7% from wholesale trade. Agriculture grew by 3.7%, while industry lagged, having posted 3.0% growth (all numbers are y-o-y for 8M24). The August statistics indicate that economic performance improved in some sectors, as in 7M24, the short-term indicator grew by 4.1% w-o-w. Retail sales posted a visible growth acceleration, as in 7M24, they were up by 5.9% y-o-y, having accelerated to 11.4% y-o-y in August alone. Seemingly, the industrial performance looked less impressive in August as in 7M24, the industry was up by 2.9% y-o-y, but it looks as though growth moderately accelerated in August. The Bureau of National Statistics will publish detailed industrial statistics in a few days, and we’ll have a clearer picture of these trends. All in all, the Kazakh economy remains in reasonably good shape, and the ongoing gradual weakening of the tenge may support goods production segments as we advance.