Annual Economic and Financial Review -December 2018

2018 Annual Economic and Financial Review

ANGUILLA

Prices, Wages and Employment

the weighted CPI index, rose by 1.4 per cent on account of an increase in the price of electricity, coupled with a rise in the cost of maintenance and repair of dwellings. Based on the strength of construction activity in 2018, coupled with the recovery of the tourism industry in the fourth quarter, employment levels are estimated to have increased, as persons who were previously unemployed or underemployed were rehired on a full time basis in the hospitality sector.

The consumer price index fell by 0.4 per cent, on an end-of-period basis, following growth of 1.4 per cent during 2017. The decrease in prices was driven by contractions in the sub-indices for recreation and culture (12.6 per cent), transport (6.1 per cent), communication (1.6 per cent) and hotels and restaurants (1.5 per cent). The decline in the recreation and culture sub-index was mainly influenced by promotional incentives for TV services, while the reduction in the price of fuel and lubricants drove the decrease in the transport sub-index. For the communication sub-index, a decline in the average cost of a telephone call and cell phones influenced the downward movement in prices, while the reduced average cost of a meal pushed the restaurants and hotel sub- index lower. By contrast, the decrease in the general price index was mitigated by growth in the remaining sub-indices including clothing and footwear (7.2 per cent); household furnishings, supplies and maintenance (5.8 per cent); miscellaneous goods and services (2.7 per cent) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.6 per cent). In addition, the housing, utilities, gas and fuels sub-index, which accounts for 25.6 per cent of

Fiscal and Debt Developments

The fiscal operations of the central government resulted in an overall surplus of $2.4m (0.3 per cent of GDP) in 2018, compared with one of $4.3m (0.6 per cent of GDP) in 2017.

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