Developments amongst Tonga’s major trading partners remained relatively stable over November.

The total container registrations declined over the month by 68 containers (6.2%) to 1,025 registrations. Container registrations remained higher than the average number of containers recorded in the same month of the past 5 years. Read more in the Container Registrations Report for October.

The annual headline inflation increased by 5.8% in September 2017 as projected. This is higher than a 5.5% reported in August 2017 however lower than 7.0% in September 2016. The continuous rise in annual inflation rate was due to higher prices of imported goods. Read more in the Inflation report for September 2017.

The total OET receipts for September 2017 declined by $10.4 million (15.1%) to $58.8 million. Lower transfer receipts’ mainly private transfers and lower services receipts drove this monthly decline. Find out more in the Overseas Exchange Transactions report for September 2017.

Remittance receipts decline to around $26 million in September 2017, 8.5% lower than the previous month. Total private transfers (particularly family support) drove the overall decrease, followed by a decline in receipts from social benefits. Read more in the Remittances Report for September 2017.

After three consecutive months of high volume in marine exports, it slowed over the month. Total exported marine products1 fell by 177.5 metric tons (64.8%) during the month. The marine exports for the month was also higher than what was recorded in May Read more in the Marine Exports Volume for September 2017.

The total agricultural exports rose by 329.0 tonnes (36.7%) to a total of 1,226.2 tonnes largely due to the squash season which started last month. Total squash exports over the month increased by 409.9 tonnes to a total of 538.6 tonnes. Read more in the Agricultural Exports Volumes report for September.

Total banks’ lending continued to increase over the month and over the year to September 2017 to a new record level of $417.0 million. This was driven by more lending to households, offsetting a decline in lending to businesses. Read more in the Banking Sector Developments report for August 2017.

The total container registrations declined over the month by 96 containers (8.1%) to 1,093 registrations. This is higher than the average number of containers recorded in the same period of the past 5 years. Read more in the Container Registrations Report for September.

The total container registrations rose over the month by 377 containers (46.4%) to a higher level than any other month of 2017. Both private and business containers increased by 194 (56.6%) and 183 containers (39.0%) respectively. Read more in the Container Registrations Report for August.

The total number of vehicle registrations for September 2017 declined by 63 vehicles (34.1%) to 311 registrations, compared with the 374 totals of registrations recorded last month. Read more in the Vehicle Registration report for September.

The total marine exports in August 2017 slightly declined by 19.9 metric tonnes (6.8%) driven by lower exports of both tuna and snapper which fell by 25.7 metric tonnes and 1.2 metric tonnes respectively. Read more in the Marine Exports Volume for August 2017.

The agricultural export proceeds received during the month rose by $0.6 million to $0.9 million reflecting the receipts for squash exports, a total of $0.4 million. Read more in the Agricultural Exports Volumes report for August.

Total banks’ lending increased considerably over August to yet again a new record level of $415.6 million. Total bank deposits grew strongly over August by $18.6 million (3.5%) to $552.4 million. Read more in the Banking Sector Developments report for August 2017.

The total marine exports as a partial indicator of the fisheries sector indicated a strong start for the sector in 2017/18. Despite the total exported marine products declining by 104.7 metric tons (26.3%) over the month, it remained favourable when compared to the same month of the past 5 years. Read more in the Marine Exports Volume for July 2017.

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