Ukraine's GDP grows 3%

Ukraine's GDP in the second quarter of 2012 against the same quarter of 2011 grew by 3%, compared to 2% in the first quarter of 2012, the State Statistics Service reported.

The service added that compared with the first quarter of 2011, taking into account seasonal factors, GDP growth in the second quarter of 2012 was 1.9%.

The State Statistics Service said earlier quoting a preliminary figure that Ukraine's real GDP grew by 2.5% in the first half of 2012. Nominal GDP was Hr 631 billion in the first half of 2012, the service said.

As reported, the growth in Ukraine's GDP accelerated to 5.2% in 2011. The service said that in the fourth quarter of 2011, the pace of growth, compared to the same period in 2010, slowed to 4.6%, from 6.5% in the third quarter, while the figures in the second and first quarters were 3.9% and 5.4% respectively.

Ukraine's GDP in 2011 amounted to 69.3% of GDP in 1990, compared to 65.8% in 2010 and 63.3% in 2009. But it is still below the post-independence record of 74.2%, which the country set in the pre-crisis year of 2008.

The government in the national budget for 2012 foresaw the real GDP growth at 3.9%. Experts from international financial organizations and independent experts are more cautious in forecasting, assessing the possible growth of the Ukrainian economy this year at 1-3%.