Namibia’s economy plunged deeper into recession in the third quarter as declines in the construction and trade sectors eclipsed growth in manufacturing and mining, the statistics agency said on Thursday.

The economy shrank by 1.9 percent in the third quarter after a revised contraction of 0.7 percent in the second quarter, the agency said.

The economy had shrank by 2.1 percent in the first quarter.

“This is the third consecutive quarter of contraction in 2017. The poor performance is mainly attributed to construction, wholesale and retail trade, utility (water and electricity) and fishing sectors that recorded a contraction in real value added,” the agency said in a statement.

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday it expects Namibia’s economic growth in Namibia to be in negative territory this year, compared to a growth of 1.1 percent in 2016.

The fund said growth was expected to resume in 2018 and accelerate thereafter to about 4 percent as production from new mines ramps up and manufacturing and retail activities recover.

The government said in September the economy was expected to grow by between 1.8 percent and 2.3 percent this year.