Preliminary indicators suggest that the economy’s modest growth rate was sustained over the review period, buoyed by gains in tourism sector metrics and positive impulses from foreign investment-led construction activity, according to The Central Bank of The Bahamas’ Economic and Financial Developments review for August published this week.

In terms of prices, the pass-through effects of elevated international oil prices contributed to an uptick in domestic energy costs during the month.

Monetary developments featured a contraction in liquidity, reflecting an increase in commercial bank lending to the government, as well as a falloff in domestic deposits. In addition, external reserves contracted, due to a rise in foreign currency demand to facilitate public and private sector transactions.

Read/download the full report here:

• Monthly Economic and Financial Developments July 2018

This is an excerpt from as it appeared on October 25, 2018. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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