BOJ: Economy likely declined in Q2

Economic activity for the June 2013 quarter is estimated to have declined within the range of negative 0.8 percent to positive growth of 0.2 percent the central bank said in its latest report on the economy. This performance compares to average decline of 0.7 per cent for the four preceding quarters.

The weak performance of the economy continued to reflect low external and domestic demand. Low domestic demand reflected the impact of depressed real wages and high unemployment the central bank said. The data compares with a decline of 1.3 percent that the Statistical Institute of Jamaica said occurred in the March quarter and an estimated decline within the range of -1.2 per cent and -0.2 per cent by BOJ.

The preliminary out turn compares with the central bank’s forecast for the quarter of real GDP growth within the range of -0.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent for the June 2013 quarter. This performance it then said should reflect expansions in Mining & Quarrying and Construction offset by contractions in Hotels & Restaurants and Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing.

The central bank outlined the various areas of growth or contraction. For the review period, contractions are estimated for the tradable and non-tradable industries. The performance of tradable industries primarily reflected declines in Export Agriculture, Manufacturing and Hotels & Restaurants. Electricity & Water Supplies and Domestic Agriculture drove the contraction in the non-tradable industries.

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing is assessed to have contracted further in the June 2013 quarter, relative to average quarterly decline of decline of 2.1 per cent for the preceding four quarters. The decline in the industry was largely associated with unfavourable weather conditions, weak global demand and the continued impact of the coffee rust disease. Specifically, the outturn for the review quarter reflected contractions of 5.7 per cent and 41.0 per cent in domestic and export crop production, respectively. This compares to an expansion of 12.7 per cent in domestic crop production and a decline of 20.4 per cent in export crop production in the June 2012 quarter. The estimated decline in export crop production largely reflected a contraction of 41.3 per cent in sugar cane milled relative to a decrease of 20.4 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2012. The fallout in sugar cane milled reflected the earlier commencement of the crop year relative to the corresponding period in 2012.

For the review quarter, Hotels & Restaurants is estimated to have contracted marginally relative to growth of 4.7 per cent in the June 2012 quarter. Of note, the industry’s performance was reflective of estimated declines in both sub-industries. The fall in Hotels was inferred from declines of 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent in stop-over visitor arrivals and visitor expenditure, respectively, relative to the corresponding quarter in 2012.

With the exception of the March and December 2011 quarters, Electricity & Water Supply is assessed to have contracted since the March 2010 quarter. The performance of the industry in the June 2013 quarter reflected decreases of 2.3 per cent and 0.1 per cent in electricity consumption and water production, respectively. Lower electricity consumption was primarily influenced by disruptions in transmission due to technical losses and theft. Continued drought condition hampered water production during the review period.

Following five consecutive quarters of growth averaging 0.7 per cent, output for Finance & Insurance Services is estimated to have contracted in the June 2013 quarter. The downturn was largely institutions’ participation in the National Debt Exchange in February 2013.

Mining & Quarrying is estimated to have recorded growth in contrast to the contraction of 9.7 per cent in the June 2012 quarter. The improvement in the industry was primarily reflective of increased capacity utilization of 40.6 per cent in the alumina industry relative to 37.4 per cent in the June 2012 quarter. This improvement reflected normalization at one alumina plant that had encountered technical difficulties in the corresponding period of 2012. Against this background, total alumina production increased by 8.6 per cent. However, due to maintenance activity at the bauxite plant, crude bauxite production declined by 4.4 per cent. In this context, total bauxite production grew by 2.2 per cent during the period.

For the June 2013 quarter, marginal growth is assessed within Construction compared to a contraction of 4.2 per cent in the preceding June quarter. The performance of the industry mainly reflected the impact of infrastructural development programmes and hotel projects such as Highway 2000, Riu Palace Jamaica and Memories White Sand Resort.