2
3.
He added that this review was the
first in a new programme under which the
short-term GDP forecast would be updated at
quarterly intervals. The Financial Secretary
had referred to this new approach in his
Concluding Speech on the Budget Debate. The
release of the results of each review would
coincide with the publication of the quarterly
economic reports.
4.
In the first quarter of 1989, domestic
exports grew by about 6% in real terms over the
same quarter last year. This was considerably
slower than the corresponding growth rates of
11% in the preceding quarter, and of 9% for 1988
as a whole.
5.
Domestic exports to the various major
markets showed a mixed performance.
Domestic
exports to Japan and China recorded the fastest
increases in real terms in the first quarter, by
about 37% and 33% respectively over a year
earlier.
Domestic exports to the United Kingdom
grew by about 10%, while those to the United
States and the Federal Republic of Germany fell