Economic and Financial Review - June 2019

A N T I G U A A N D B A R B U D A

Overview

Following robust growth in 2018, provisional data for the first half 2019 suggest that economic activity eased, when compared with the outturn in the corresponding period of 2018. The moderation in growth was associated with delays in construction projects and an easing in tourism-related activity. Inflationary pressures subsided, as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.0 per cent on an end of period basis, relative to a rise of 1.4 per cent in the corresponding period in 2018. The government’s fiscal operations yielded a wider overall deficit, attributed to a higher level of current expenditure. Consequently, total outstanding disbursed public sector debt trended upwards. The banking sector

remained sound, as observed by an expansion in total outstanding credit, an improvement in asset quality, strong capitalisation and healthy liquidity ratios. A wider deficit was recorded in merchandise trade, which was influenced by an expansion in the value of imports. Economic activity in Antigua and Barbuda is expected to further strengthen for the remainder of 2019, boosted by improved performance in the tourism industry, along with the recommencement of infrastructural work in the construction sector. Prospects are also favourable from the opening of the University of the West Indies’ Five Islands campus, which is expected to provide

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Eastern Caribbean Central Bank