You're reading: Ups and downs detected in Ukraine’s economy

Editor’s Note: Economic Snapshot is a new Kyiv Post feature on the economic situation in Ukraine.Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov boasted on Nov. 16 that the nations’ gross domestic product had surged by 7.2 percent in October, compared to the same period one year earlier, and that GDP was up 5.3 percent during the first 10 months of the year, in year-on-year terms.

In a note to investors released that same day, investment bank Renaissance Capital said that Ukraine’s economy was “now in much better shape than in 2008,” when the global financial crisis rattled the nation, triggering a 15 percent GDP plunge in Ukraine during 2009.

But it’s not all a rosy picture. State figures indicate that industrial production had slowed to 4.7 percent in October, halving from prior months.

The downturn has been linked by economists to waning global demand and falling prices for Ukraine’s top exports, starting with steel.

Agriculture is one of the few sectors of Ukraine’s economy where growth was picking up.

Renaissance Capital said: “Despite the potential for greater vulnerability due to a global slowdown, we think the potential impact on Ukraine now would be much more limited relative to 2008, as the economy is still operating below potential and … the output gap remains negative.”