The total expenditure on petroleum imports fell by 52.6% during the first half of 2009 to US$866 million compared to US$1,825 million spend in the same 2008 period, according to the External Sector Performance for June 2009 released by the Central Bank (CB).
The report says the average crude oil import price which was US$108 per barrel in the first half of 2008 halved to US$53 per barrel for the same period in 2009. However, oil prices have risen over the past few months, currently hovering at around US$73 per barrel.
The CB said expenditure on imports of intermediate goods continued to weaken in June reflecting the lower expenditure incurred on petroleum imports. The cumulative expenditure on imports decreased by 36.7% to US$4,437 million during the first half of 2009.
The CB stated that earnings from exports reached US$565 million in June 2009 which was a 13.7% decrease on a year-on-year basis. However, the rate of decline in exports slowed in June compared to the notably high declines in April and May.
The largest contribution to the decline was from the industrial sector (73%) followed by the agriculture sector. Industrial exports declined by 13.5% to US$420 million in June 2009, led by lower exports of rubber based products, textiles and garments and petroleum, owing to the impact of the global economic slowdown.
However, the CB stated that apparel exports indicate a recovery in the second half as order books look healthy for the rest of the year. The cumulative earnings from exports have declined by 18% to US$3,189 million during the first half of 2009.
The gross official reserves, with and without Asian Clearing Union (ACU) funds, recorded US$1,737 million and US$1,618 million respectively by end June 2009 which is equivalent to 1.8 and 1.7 months of imports. |
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