The Reserve Bank of Fiji says inflation is expected to pick up from August as tax changes announced in the national budget take effect, coupled with the recent upturn in global food and fuel prices.
In a statement, the Central Bank said an average annual inflation rate in the first seven months of 2023 stands at 1.3 per cent.
RBF also highlighted that global growth prospects remain fragile amid escalated geopolitical tensions, tighter monetary policy and a slowdown in China.
They said that global inflation continues to trend above target for most economies.
However, strong performance in the tourism industry continued with visitor arrivals, hotel occupancy rates and revenue earned from rooms sold trending above 2022 and 2019 levels.
The RBF said consumption activity was upbeat cumulative to July, as indicated by the annual growth in net and loans for consumption purposes.
Investment activity shows signs of recovery, as investment loans and domestic cement sales grew annually in the year to July.
Also, in the year to July, personal remittance grew by 22.8 per cent.
The Central Bank said that cumulative to May 2023, trade deficit (excluding aircraft) widened by 4 per cent to $1,6930.3 million as imports outpaced exports to $863.8 million.
The Labour demand remains strong, corroborated by the high growth in recruitment intentions in the year to July.
The RBF added that income levels also rose over the same period, as indicated by an increase in PAYE tax collection.
