In contrast to industry, construction output in January fell slightly compared with December. Overall production was up by 2.8% on the previous month. Key to first-quarter gross domestic product growth is the fact that industrial output in January was no less than 1.3% up on the average for the fourth quarter 2016. This means that the prospects are good that, in the first quarter of this year, output in this major sector will give an appreciable boost to growth for the first time in a year. For the current quarter we are penciling in gross domestic product growth of 0.5 – 0.6% over the final quarter of 2016.