The country?s net international reserves dropped by 47.5% in the past six months. The period December, 1999 to June 30 of the current year saw a reduction from US$547 million to US$287 million. The information is found in the ?January-June 2000 Economic Report? researched and published by the Central Bank. This represents a loss of 47.5% compared with the same period in the previous year. The causes were attributed to the cost of importing petroleum, the payment of the nation?s debt with the Club of Paris, and Central Bank intervention to maintain the stability of the dollar-peso ratio. At the same time, the report indicates modest inflation and a notable increase in the gross national product. The GNP for the six-month period saw an increment of 10.8%, as compared with the same period in the previous year. Hotels, bars and restaurants experienced 21.3%, mining 29.6%, communications 14.4%, commerce 14.4%, transportation 13.4%, manufacturing 12.6%, agriculture 9.0%, and construction 8.9%. The report predicts an overall GNP increase for calendar year 2000 of 8.9% Inflation registered 1.44% increase for the six month period, allowing for an annualized projection of 5.29%. Inflation would have been under 1% for the first half of the year had it not been for the increase in telephone rates, and the cost of health services. Food, drink and tobacco, as a group, actually experienced a 3.34% reduction in cost for the period.
