Macau’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 13.3 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the first quarter, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) said in a statement on Monday.
The bureau attributed the decrease in the city’s economic output mainly to “the continuous decline in exports of services and decrease in investment.”
According to the statement, external demand showed no sign of improvement and exports of goods and services fell by 24.6 per cent and 13.7 per cent respectively.
Exports of gaming services dropped by 17.1 per cent, according to the statement.
The bureau pointed out that domestic demand slackened, private consumption expenditure declined by 2.3 per cent, and investment and imports of goods shrank by 31.4 per cent and 19.9 per cent respectively.
The statement underlined that “despite the prevailing favourable employment conditions, pay growth remained subdued, dragging down private consumption expenditure by 2.3 per cent year-on-year, with a notable decline in expenditure on durable goods.”
Gross fixed capital formation, which gauges investment activity, contracted by 31.9 per cent year-on-year due to “the substantial decline in private investment”.
The statement also pointed out that merchandise trade continued to deteriorate, while service trade stayed weak.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
