In addition, with the on-going reconstruction and recovery efforts, construction activity is expected to remain strong, further boosting retail sales activity. Ladies and gentlemen, we know that imports of investment and consumption goods are projected to pick up as the domestic economy strengthens and reconstruction efforts postcyclones continue.
When we couple this with expected lower exports of agricultural products as a result of the natural disasters, it is possible that we will see a small dent in our foreign reserves towards the end of this year. Nonetheless, at the moment, our official reserves continue to remain comfortable, at just under $ billion, or enough to pay for 5.5 months of retained imports.