… exports increased by global demands

MBABANE – The global shortage of commodities has contributed to the increase of exports from (swatini by 3 per cent, in the current Tuarter.

(xports rose by eight per cent in 202 depicts an improvement of 2 per cent.

6imilarly, µagriculture and forestry¶ activities fell by . per cent owing to the outbreak of the footand-mouth disease (F0' in some provinces, disrupting animal production in the period.

0ining and Tuarrying activities declined by 3.2 per cent due to the lower output of some key commodities (gold, coal, and diamond attributed to production constraints. Conversely, the µtransport, storage and communication¶ as well as µfinance, real estate and business services¶ subsectors depicted resilience, growing by . and . per cent, respectively, in the review period. This was outlined in the Tuarterly economic bulletin compiled and published by the 0inistry of (conomic 3lanning and 'evelopment, 0acroeconomic Analysis and research 8nit. According to the report, (conomic activity contracted by . per cent, year-on-year, 2022-Q2 relative to a .0 per cent growth in 2022-Q , owing to weaker demand in light of higher inflationary pressures.

(xports earnings increased due to relatively strong depreciation. Headline inflation averaged

. per cent in 2022-Q3 compared to .2 per cent in 2022-Q3. Inflation drivers in the period included higher costs of food, fuel, liTuid fuels, furniture, among others. Responding to inflationary pressures, monetary policy gradually tightened. The 0onetary 3olicy Consultative Committee (03CC increased the interest rates twice in the Tuarter, to record 0 basis points, in a bid to cool down the economy amid rising domestic inflationary pressures. 0inister of (conomic 3lanning and 'evelopment 'r. Tambo *ina said global commodity prices on a Tuarterly comparison, were broadly moderated, following the price hikes that were exacerbated by the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the first half of the year.

He said food prices fell by 2 per cent, mainly emanating from a downturn in the prices of edible oils, cereals, and sugar. ³3articular, edible oils plunged by 2 . per cent, owing to the fall in the prices of certain oil seeds (palm, soy, sunflower and rapeseed oils .´ , which