Low GDP growth calls for aggressive action

ALTHOUGH gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter was expected to be modest for some obvious reasons, the official announcement Thursday that the economy grew by just 5.5 percent was an unpleasant surprise and should be viewed with concern.

The second quarter result was lower than the 5.6 -percent GDP growth recorded in the first quarter of the year, and was much lower than the 6.2-percent expansion in the second quarter of 2018. Government economic managers and most analysts had predicted that growth in the second quarter would be closer to 6 percent.