MEFD September 2021

Published: Monday November 1st, 2021

Indications are that durnig the month of September, domestic economic activity continued to recover, albeit at a protracted pace, amid the ongoing strains of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism output further strengthened containing a more pronounced rebuilding of seasonal business as the year progressed, attibuted to improved vaccination efforts, both locally and internationally. However the year-to-date gains remained more tempered, as the result for the first quarter of 2020 largely escaped the pandemic, whereas the 2021 rebuilding only commenced late in the first quarter and then, only for stopover visitors. In price developments, domestic inflation firmed during the twelve months ending June, reflective of the uptick in global oil prices. Monetary developments for the month of September revealed a reduction in bank liquidity, as the expansion in domestic credit outstripped the growth in the deposit base. Also, external reserves contracted, as the public sector expressed a net demand for foreign currency.

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