Monthly Economic and Financial Developments, November 2006

Published: Monday January 1st, 2007

During the month of November the Bahamian economy maintained positive momentum supported by strong consumer demand, which stimulated robust growth in private sector credit and sustained the expansion in construction activity. These developments generally muted the moderation in tourism output, signaled by the 4.7% drop in visitor arrivals for the first ten months of the year as a 7.0% downturn in sea visitors eclipsed a marginal 0.5% increase in air traffic. By port of entry, tourists traveling to New Providence contracted by 6.7%, while traffic to Grand Bahama and the Family Islands weakened by 1.2% and 1.8%, respectively.

Despite the recent global oil price hikes, consumer price inflation moderated to 1.74% for the twelve-months ended November from the 2.01% rate in the same period of 2005. Significant cost increases were registered for "other" goods & services (6.34%), food & beverages (4.66%) and furniture & household operation (2.07%). However, these were tempered by cost declines in average prices for transport & communications (2.12%), recreation & entertainment services (0.69%) and education (0.24%).

November also featured a number of investment initiatives, including the signing of an agreement between the Government and private investors for the proposed construction of a $1.3 billion luxury resort in the Southwestern district of New Providence. Additionally, a local commercial bank offered a $20.0 million bond issue to investors during the month.

Please use the link below for a further analysis of economic and financial trends during the month of November, 2006.