MEFD January 2014

Published: Friday February 28th, 2014

Preliminary indications suggest that domestic economic developments were subdued during the month of January, owing primarily to a relatively flat tourism performance. However, conditions continued to benefit from steady foreign investment-led activity, which sustained employment opportunities in the construction sector. Meanwhile, inflation remained mild, amid the decline in global oil prices. Based on the latest fiscal data for the first half of FY2013/14, the improvement in the overall deficit was associated with a combination of reductions in capital related outlays and budgetary support to the public corporations, which more than compensated for the softening in total revenue collections. In the monetary sector, both liquidity and external reserves expanded in January, mainly due to net receipts from Government’s external bond issue.

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