Monthly Economic and Financial Developments, November 2013

Published: Friday December 20th, 2013

Indications are that domestic economic conditions stabilised somewhat during November, as a number of varied-scale foreign investment projects supported construction activity, and tourism output showed initial signs of a modest improvement, relative to the prior year when adverse weather conditions caused some disruption to visitors’ travel itineraries. Consumer price inflation remained mild, benefitting from the pass-through effects of lower global oil prices. In the monetary sector, the expansion in bank liquidity was partly associated with the proceeds from Government’s foreign currency borrowings, which also tempered the falloff in external reserves.

Anecdotal information suggested a slight recovery in the tourism sector in November, as several hotels benefitted from the typical Thanksgiving holiday traffic, which last year was interrupted by the impact of Hurricane Sandy. The hosting of a significant international sporting event also boosted occupancy levels at one major property.

In terms of domestic energy prices, the average monthly costs of both gasoline and diesel declined, in November, by 2.7% and 4.0%, to $5.12 and $5.00 per gallon, and year-on-year, by 6.6% and 6.2%, respectively.

For full text reeading, please download the attached document.