Our economy contracted in the first half of this year, following 21 years of uninterrupted growth. This is mainly due to the strict lockdown implemented in March to June purposely to save lives and to boost the country’s healthcare capacity. The sharp contraction in the first half of this year is not in any way a reflection of our fundamentals, which remain strong.
But now, we are seeing early signs of recovery. For instance, the manufacturing purchasing managers index has improved from 27.5 in April to 47.3 in July and to 50.2 in September. The value and volume of production for the manufacturing sector also improved from March to July.