LIQUIDITY levels in the banking system stands at $1054.2 million with foreign reserves sitting at $2,364.3m and projected to rise further in the coming months because of Government drawdown of external loans.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji yesterday released its economic review for March which also highlighted weak consumption activity and 36.3 per cent decrease in net value added tax collections for the period in review.
While the RBF recorded a 37.5 per cent decline in commercial bank’s new consumption lending, the same period had a significant increase (91.9 per cent) in second-hand vehicle registrations, led by higher second-hand private vehicle registrations (130.6 per cent).
The review also noted that investment spending continued to be sluggish cumulative to February, as reflected in lower cement production (-9.1 per cent), domestic cement sales (-20.3 per cent), and commercial banks’ new lending for building and construction purposes (-29.0 per cent).
However the RBF projects the year-ahead prospects for investment in plant, machinery and buildings to improve, as per the RBF’s December 2020 Business Expectations Survey.
