The economy of Paraguay advanced 6.2% year-on-year in Q2 2018, following an upwardly revised 4.7% growth in Q1. It is the strongest expansion since the first quarter of 2017, boosted by a faster rise in manufacturing (10% compared to 6.2% in Q1), namely metal products, non-metallic minerals, beverages and tobacco, machinery and equipment, chemicals, wood products, paper and cardboard, textiles and clothing, meat and dairy. There was also a rebound in construction (16.1% compared to -3.7%) and in livestock, forestry, fishing and mining (2.3% compared to -3.3%), namely poultry, pigs and milk. On the other hand, a slowdown was seen in internal trade (5.9% compared to 6.4%) and agriculture (0.7% compared to 1%) and utilities declined (-0.2% compared to 7.7%). On a quarterly basis, the economy shrank 0.3%, following a downwardly revised 0.5% fall in Q1. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Paraguay averaged 3.49 percent from 1995 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 16.40 percent in the first quarter of 2013 and a record low of -7.70 percent in the second quarter of 2009.
GDP Annual Growth Rate in Paraguay is expected to be 3.60 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate GDP Annual Growth Rate in Paraguay to stand at 3.70 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Paraguay GDP Annual Growth Rate is projected to trend around 3.80 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.