It was the eight consecutive period of expansion and the strongest in one year, mainly boosted by net external demand as exports of goods and services expanded 1.3 percent (+0.1 percent in Q1), while imports advanced at a slower 1.1 percent (+1 percent in Q1).
Meanwhile, domestic demand expanded slightly by 0.2 percent (+0.6 percent in Q1), due to a sharp slowdown in household consumption growth (+0.1 percent from +1 percent in Q1) while government spending advanced at the same pace as in the previous period (+0.3 percent). In contrast, gross fixed capital formation contracted 0.1 percent (-0.7 percent in Q1), as construction dropped 2.6 percent while machinery grew 1.7 percent.
Total employment advanced 0.6 percent, after showing no growth in the precedent quarter.
Year-on-year, the economy advanced 0.9 percent, the same pace as in the previous quarter. Domestic demand grew 1.3 percent, lower than 2.2 percent in the previous quarter, as households' spending expanded by 1.7 percent (+2.6 percent in Q1) and public expenditure increased by 0.2 percent (+0.9 percent in Q1). Fixed investment contracted 3.1 percent (-1.7 percent in Q1). Exports increased by 1.5 percent (+3.1 percent in Q1) and imports went up by 0.9 percent (+4.6 percent in Q1). As a result, net exernal demand registered a positive contribution to the economy's growth.