Today we start our first working day of 2022. I would like to begin by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for so faithfully carrying out your duties throughout the past year under the difficult working conditions during the pandemic. Our economy recovered more rapidly than expected last year amid the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.
Exports and facilities investment maintained buoyancy, boosted by increased global demand. The slump in consumption gradually eased despite continuing effects from the spread of the disease. Consumer price inflation picked up rapidly, as international commodity prices soared and demand pressures increased in the process of economic recovery.