MONDAY, MAY 26, 1986
5
IMPROVED DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN FIRST QUARTER
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THE DECLINE IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS DURING MOST OF 1985 APPEARS TO HAVE STOPPED, AS INDICATED BY THE GROWTH RATE (ON A YEAR-ON-YEAR COMPARISON) OF ABOUT 1 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS IN BOTH THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 1985 AND THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1986, ACCORDING TO THE FIRST QUARTER ECONOMIC REPORT 1986 PUBLISHED TODAY.
LATEST FIGURES ON THE ORDER-BOOK POSITIONS IN MANUFACTURING AND ON RETAINED IMPORTS OF RAW MATERIALS AND SEMI-MANUFACTURES SUGGEST A CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
DOMESTIC DEMAND ALSO SHOWED SOME IMPROVEMENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1986 COMPARED WITH THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1985. REFLECTING THIS,
RETAINED IMPORTS OF CONSUMER GOODS GREW BY 6 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS, OF FOODSTUFFS BY 16 PER CENT, AND OF CAPITAL GOODS BY 3 PER CENT.
THE REPORT NOTES THAT THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE REMAINED LARGELY STABLE WHILE THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE ROSE A LITTLE DURING THE 12 MONTHS ENDING MARCH 1986.
ACCORDING TO THE NEW SERIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT STATISTICS COMPILED SINCE JANUARY 1985, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1986 WAS 3.2 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH THE RATE OF 3.1 PER CENT RECORDED IN BOTH THE FIRST AND THE FOURTH QUARTERS OF 1985.
THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE, AT 2.3 PER CENT, WAS THE SAME AS IN THE PRECEDING QUARTER BUT HIGHER THAN IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1985, AT 1.5 PER CENT.
THE RATE OF INFLATION REMAINED AT A LOW LEVEL IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1986, THE YEAR-ON-YEAR RATE OF INCREASE IN THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) WAS 2.6 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH 3.4 PER CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1985 AND 2.9 PER CENT IN THE FOURTH QUARTER.
THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (B) WAS ON AVERAGE 3.2 PER CENT HIGHER IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR THAN IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1985, WHILE THE HANG SENG CONSUMER PRICE INDEX WAS 4.6 PER CENT HIGHER.
THE REPORT ASSESSES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1986 USING SUCH STATISTICS AS ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. IT ALSO UPDATES THE ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMY WHICH WAS GIVEN IN THE 1985 ECONOMIC BACKGROUND PUBLISHED ON BUDGET DAY.
APART FROM GIVING AN OVERALL VIEW, THE REPORT ALSO CONTAINS INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS ON THE EXTERNAL SECTOR, THE FINANCIAL SECTOR, THE LABOUR SECTOR, ACTIVITY IN SELECTED SECTORS AND PRICES.
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