Bahrain Economic Growth Slows To 4.6% In Q3

Bahrain’s economy grew 4.6 per cent from a year earlier in the third quarter when adjusted for inflation, the head of the country’s statistics office was quoted as saying by state news agency BNA, a slowdown from 5.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

Mohammed al-Amer, president of the Central Informatics Organisation, also said the oil sector contributed about 45 per cent of output growth, thanks to higher crude prices on global markets as well as higher production.

Amer did not give other details of the performance of individual sectors in Bahrain’s $30 billion economy, whose non-oil portion is driven by the financial industry, which accounts for roughly 16 per cent of gross domestic product.

Political unrest since 2011, in which the government has clashed with mainly Shi’ite-led pro-democracy protesters, has hurt Bahrain’s status as a regional financial hub while increasing pressure on the state budget.

Analysts polled by Reuters in September forecast Bahrain’s GDP growth would accelerate to four per cent in 2013 from 3.4 per cent in 2012, before slowing again to 3.5 per cent next year.