Ukrainian industrial production slumped in May for the 10th month in a row, the fifth straight month in which output has fallen more than 30 percent, as a global recession weighed on manufacturers, Bloomberg reported.
Production fell an annualized 31.8 percent, the same as in April, the Kiev-based state statistics committee said today on its Web site. The median forecast of 13 economists in a Bloomberg survey was for a 30 percent decline.
Ukraine, which had average economic growth of 7 percent between 2001 and 2007, faces its first recession in 13 years as the global financial crisis curbs demand for its products. The eastern European nation was forced to turn to financial organizations including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for help.
Steel output shrank 43.4 percent in May from the month a year earlier, while machine building fell 53 percent and chemical output declined 34.2 percent, the statistics office said. Production in the three industries makes up more than 50 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Ukraine’s economy probably contracted an annual 21.1 percent in the first quarter, the country’s Audit Chamber said on June 3. GDP may contract 10 percent this year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development forecast on May 7. The IMF expects growth to resume in 2010 with a 1 percent increase.
