XN000022-1991-11-22 — Page 8

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22,

1991

THE CORRESPONDING SURPLUS IN THE SAME QUARTER LAST $6,624 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 4% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS.

YEAR WAS

OF

FOR THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 1991, A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT

OF IMPORTS, WAS TO 2.9% OF THE VALUE $16,062 MILLION, EQUIVALENT RECORDED.

DEMAND, YEAR BARLIER,

ESTIMATE, PRIVATE ACCORDING TO THE PRELIMINARY QUARTERLY GDP CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE, AS THE LARGEST COMPONENT OF DOMESTIC GREW BY 6% IN REAL TERMS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OVER A FOLLOWING AN INCREASE OF 5% IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

EXPENDITURE ON CONSUMER

DURABLES SHOWED

PARTICULARLY

SIGNIFICANT GROWTH.

RATE

AS REGARDS GOVERNMENT CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE, THE GROWTH IN NATIONAL ACCOUNTS TERMS WAS 11% IN REAL TERMS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OVER A YEAR EARLIER, FOLLOWING AN INCREASE OF 7% IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

LOCAL INVESTMENT, MEASURED IN TERMS OF GROSS CAPITAL FORMATION, ROSE BY 11% IN REAL TERMS IN THE OVER A YEAR EARLIER, COMPARED WITH AN INCREASE OF 7% QUARTER.

EXPENDITURE OF THE MAIN COMPONENTS, CONSTRUCTION DECLINED BY 2% IN REAL TERMS IN HAVING INCREASED BY 6% IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

DOMESTIC FIXED SECOND QUARTER IN THE FIRST

ON BUILDING AND THE SECOND QUARTER,

REDUCTION IN PUBLIC

THE DECLINE WAS MAINLY DUE TO A MARKED SECTOR CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT FOLLOWING THE WINDING DOWN OF SEVERAL MAJOR PROJECTS.

AND MACHINERY

EQUIPMENT

IN CONTRAST, EXPENDITURE ON PLANT, REGISTERED A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE OF 21% IN REAL TERMS IN THE SECOND QUARTER, AFTER A 7% GROWTH IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

DOMESTIC DEMAND STRENGTHENED FURTHER IN THE THIRD QUARTER.

ROBUST ON CONSUMER SPENDING, THE VOLUME OF RETAIL SALES SHOWED

PERIOD GROWTH, BY 14% IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING AUGUST OVER THE SAME

GOODS FELL BY LAST YEAR,

EVEN THOUGH RETAINED IMPORTS OF CONSUMER ABOUT 20% IN REAL TERMS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OVER A YEAR EARLIER.

ROSE EARLIER. MACHINERY FOR

ON INVESTMENT SPENDING, RETAINED IMPORTS OF CAPITAL GOODS BY

ABOUT 24% IN REAL TERMS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OVER A YEAR WITHIN THIS CATEGORY, RETAINED IMPORTS OF INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING USE ROSE EVEN MORE RAPIDLY, BY ABOUT 36% IN REAL TERMS.

THE THIRD QUARTER.

INFLATION AT THE CONSUMER LEVEL WAS STILL HIGH IN QUARTER, NOTWITHSTANDING A MODERATION FROM THE SECOND

OVER FIRST

THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) ROSE BY 12.3% IN THE THIRD QUARTER THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR, FOLLOWING INCREASES OF 11.9% IN

QUARTER AND 13.1% IN THE SECOND QUARTER.

THE

/HIGHER RETAIL