SARAJEVO, April 26 (Reuters) - Bosnia's industrial output rose by 1.3 percent in the first quarter of 2010, according to data issued on Monday, suggesting a negative trend from the last year is coming to an end.
'We can see either a slight increase or stagnation in some of our industry sectors but no significant drops like last year,' said Igor Gavran, an economic analyst at Bosnia's Foreign Trade Chamber, adding that modest growth in some sectors leaves a space for optimism.
The rise was mainly driven by stronger activity in manufacturing industries and energy sector, with production of intermediate goods and consumer durables rising by 15.8 percent and 4.6 percent respectively, the statistics agency said.
Output of energy, gas and water increased 2.1 percent compared with the first quarter of 2009.
But output of capital goods more than halved in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same period last year despite a 4 percent rise in March from the previous month.
The output of base metal sector, which is key in the Balkan country impoverished after the 1992-95 war, fell by 25 percent last year due to the global economic downturn.
Gavran said a 16.7 percent increase in mining, as well as 10.8 percent rise in manufacture of base metals and fabricated metal products and 14.4 percent hike in textile manufacturing, could fuel the output of capital goods in the coming period.
(Reporting by Maja Zuvela; Editing by Toby Chopra) Keywords: ECONOMY BOSNIA/INDUSTRY (maja.zuvela@thomsonreuters.com; +387 33 295 484; Reuters Messaging: maja.zuvela.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'We can see either a slight increase or stagnation in some of our industry sectors but no significant drops like last year,' said Igor Gavran, an economic analyst at Bosnia's Foreign Trade Chamber, adding that modest growth in some sectors leaves a space for optimism.
The rise was mainly driven by stronger activity in manufacturing industries and energy sector, with production of intermediate goods and consumer durables rising by 15.8 percent and 4.6 percent respectively, the statistics agency said.
Output of energy, gas and water increased 2.1 percent compared with the first quarter of 2009.
But output of capital goods more than halved in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same period last year despite a 4 percent rise in March from the previous month.
The output of base metal sector, which is key in the Balkan country impoverished after the 1992-95 war, fell by 25 percent last year due to the global economic downturn.
Gavran said a 16.7 percent increase in mining, as well as 10.8 percent rise in manufacture of base metals and fabricated metal products and 14.4 percent hike in textile manufacturing, could fuel the output of capital goods in the coming period.
(Reporting by Maja Zuvela; Editing by Toby Chopra) Keywords: ECONOMY BOSNIA/INDUSTRY (maja.zuvela@thomsonreuters.com; +387 33 295 484; Reuters Messaging: maja.zuvela.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.