MANAMA – Bahrain's economic growth accelerated strongly in the first quarter of 2013, helped by a revival of oil output, official data showed Sunday. Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, expanded 2.5 percent quarter-on-quarter in January-March, compared to a downwardly revised 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. On an annual basis, growth quickened to 4.2 percent in the first three months of 2013, the highest rate in a year, from a downwardly revised 2.5 percent in the previous quarter, the data from the Central Informatics Organization showed. Output in the hydrocarbons sector, which accounts for a quarter of Bahrain's $30 billion economy, grew 1.3 percent in January-March from the previous quarter, against a mere 0.4 percent rise in the final three months of 2012. Hydrocarbon output jumped 8.0 percent on an annual basis in the first quarter after falling by the same amount in October-December. Last year, Bahrain reported a drop in crude oil output from its key Abu Safa field, which it shares with Saudi Arabia and which contributes nearly 67 percent of budget revenue. Growth in Bahrain's financial industry, which accounts for roughly 16 percent of GDP, slowed to 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in January-March from 1.4 percent in the previous three months. In the hospitality sector, which nosedived during the 2011 turmoil, output edged up by 0.5 percent in January-March, after a 0.1 percent rise in the fourth quarter. — Reuters
