Ukraine?s GDP Rises By 4.5% YoY In Feb

As a result of the February increase, GDP increased 5.5% YTD. January’s gross domestic product increased by 6.5% yoy. Concorde Capital: This year’s pace of growth is two times lower than in 2004, as expected. A slowdown in industrial output (7.3% versus 18.2% in Jan-Feb 2004) and wholesale and retail trade (1.8% versus 9.4%), as well as negative growth rates in construction, contributed to the lower real GDP growth. Among the growth factors was the processing industry (up 8.5% yoy) and transportation (up 7.2% yoy). The government forecasts an 8.2% GDP growth in 2005. We are slightly less optimistic and still maintain our 7% GDP growth estimate for this year.