Annual Economic and Financial Review -December 2018

D O M E S T I C E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T S

Overview

largely reflected a turnaround in the performance of some key sectors including real estate, wholesale and retail, hotels and restaurants, and manufacturing; supported by continued expansion in construction activity. On a disaggregated basis, preliminary estimates revealed that economic activity expanded in all eight territories. Six of the ECCU member states recorded inflationary conditions during 2018, compared with the previous year, when all eight countries experienced inflationary pressures.

Supported by positive global developments, economic activity in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) persisted on an upward trajectory, registering its eighth consecutive year of expansion. Provisional assessments indicate that the regional economy grew by 3.3 per cent 1 in 2018, an acceleration from the pace of 1.4 per cent recorded in the year prior. The acceleration

1 In keeping with international standards, the ECCB updated the terminology used to describe economic activity in the ECCU. Accordingly, the Bank now reports real change in the economy using real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at market prices and not Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices as used in previous reports of the Annual Economic and Financial Review (AEFR). However, GVA will remain applicable for output by sector.

1

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank