BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Brunei's economy grew 3.6 percent in the first quarter of 2016 as compared to the same period last year on the back of increased oil and gas production.
According to the statistics released by Brunei's Department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE) on Thursday, Brunei's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices had increased to 4.69 billion Brunei dollars (3.47 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2016, compared to 4.53 billion Brunei dollars (3.35 billion U.S. dollars) in the same period last year.
The department attributed the GDP growth to the oil and gas sector which had expanded by 7.6 percent thanks to higher production.
The services sector, which accounted for 42.1 percent of the country's GDP, contracted by 0.7 percent, mainly on a sharp decline in transport services.
The department said the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector declined by 15.1 percent owing to lower fishery, fruits and vegetables production while the non-oil and gas industry sector declined by 1.9 percent due to a slowdown in construction industry.
Government spending decreased by 11.4 percent. Gross capital formation and exports declined by 8.4 percent and 3.8 percent respectively.
Imports of goods and services expanded 14.2 percent while household consumption grew by 5.2 percent.
