XN000022-1990-05-25 — Page 3

2

FRIDAY, MAY 25, 1990

AS RE-EXPORTS CONTINUED TO GROW WHILE DOMESTIC EXPORTS DECLINED CENT FURTHER, THE SHARE OF RE-EXPORTS IN TOTAL EXPORTS ROSE TO 64 PER IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1990 FROM 61 PER CENT IN THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.

"THE DECLINES IN IMPORTS AND RETAINED IMPORTS HAD BECOME MODERATE IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1990," HE SAID.

MORE

"ON A YEAR-ON-YEAR COMPARISON, IMPORTS FELL BY ABOUT 1 PER CENT QUARTER OF IN REAL TERMS IN THE FIRST QUARTER, WHILE IN THE FOURTH 1989 THE DECLINE WAS 4 PER CENT,

MR TANG SAID.

FIRST QUARTER.

RETAINED IMPORTS FELL BY ABOUT 7 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS IN

THE PRECEDING QUARTER, FOLLOWING A DECLINE OF 13 PER CENT IN

THE

A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $3,072 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 2 CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

WAS SMALLER

THAN

DEFICIT THE

OF

$6,982

PER

MILLION,

"THIS EQUIVALENT TO 5 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED IN THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR, THE GOVERNMENT ECONOMIST SAID.

...

DOMESTIC DEMAND WAS RELATIVELY SLACK IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

ON CONSUMPTION, RETAINED IMPORTS OF CONSUMER GOODS CONTINUED TO

COMPARED WITH A YEAR EARLIER, THE SHOW A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE. OF RETAIL SALES ALSO FELL.

VOLUME

ON INVESTMENT, RETAINED IMPORTS OF CAPITAL GOODS SHOWED ONLY

MACHINERY INDUSTRIAL RETAINED IMPORTS OF INCREASE. MANUFACTURING USE, HOWEVER, CONTINUED TO DECREASE SIGNIFICANTLY.

SMALL

A

FOR

"INFLATION WAS STILL HIGH, EVEN THOUGH THE YEAR-ON-YEAR RATE OF 9.4 PER INCREASE IN THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) HAD DECELERATED TO

IN THE THIRD CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1990 FROM 10.1 PER CENT

MR TANG SAID. QUARTER AND 9.9 PER CENT IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 1989,

"

"COMPARED WITH A YEAR EARLIER, THE CPI (A), WAS HIGHER PER CENT IN JANUARY, 8.4 PER CENT IN FEBRUARY, AND 10.0 PER MARCH 1990," HE ADDED.

BY 9.8 CENT IN

"THE FASTER RATE OF INCREASE IN CONSUMER PRICES IN THE MONTH OF YEAR, MARCH WAS PARTLY DUE TO A LOW BASE OF COMPARISON IN MARCH LAST AND PARTLY DUE TO THE INCREASES AS FROM MARCH IN DUTIES

BUS FARES, MR ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO, AS WELL AS IN POINTED OUT.

ON PETROL,

TANG

**WITH THE SLOW ECONOMIC GROWTH IN RECENT QUARTERS, THERE SIGNS THAT THE DEMAND FOR LABOUR WAS EASING," HE SAID.

WERE

CENT

THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ROSE TO 1.7 PER IN THE FIRST QUARTER, WITH THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE STAYING AT 0.7 PER CENT.

/THE NUMBER