The economy grew 6.3% in August, and construction was the sector going the other way

The statistics office reported 6.3% year-on-year growth for August and a 7.6% average for the first eight months of 2026, with the announcement made by its executive director at the end of September. These are preliminary estimates built from VAT-registered enterprise declarations rather than final national accounts, so the monthly figure can move when the quarterly numbers are compiled. The eight-month average is the sturdier of the two, and a 7.6% run rate is a strong year by any regional comparison.

Manufacturing was named first, driven mainly by refined petroleum products — fuel oil, naphtha and gas oil — with petroleum product exports reported as roughly eleven times their level a year earlier. Information and communication grew on software development and IT services, and financial activity on higher net interest income at the commercial banks. Trade was up on wholesale and retail volumes across fuel, food, drink, tobacco and pharmaceuticals, and logistics followed foreign trade, with exports up about 24.7% and imports 4.3%. Real estate was also listed among the contributors, on land transactions and increased leasing of non-residential commercial space.

Construction was reported as shrinking, and the detail matters more than the headline: the decline sits in civil engineering — roads, bridges, motorways and tunnels — rather than in buildings. Imports of construction materials fell about 12%, and cement and clinker imports about 25%. For anyone watching the housing pipeline, a drop in road and tunnel work is not the same signal as a drop in residential starts, and it should not be read as one. It does, though, sit awkwardly next to the government's stated transport investment plans, and it is the line to watch in the next few monthly releases.