5.2 The weighted average TT/US dollar selling rate depreciated marginally by 0.05 percent to US$1 = TT$6.7838 in August 2021 from US$1 = TT$6.7802 in October 2020. Similarly, the TT dollar depreciated by 5.2 percent against the Canadian dollar (CAD), by 6.4 percent against the UK pound (GBP), and appreciated by 0.07 percent against the Euro (EUR) over the reference period.
6.0 International Trade
For the nine-month period ending June 2021, Trinidad and Tobago’s Balance of Visible Trade registered a $10,288.6 million surplus, an exponential increase when compared to the $1,987.8 million balance recorded for the same 2020 period. This improvement in the trade balance was due to a 24.9 percent increase in total exports, which moved from $29,317.7 million in 2020 to $36,632.2 million in 2021, along with a 3.6 percent reduction in imports, which fell from $27,329.9 million in 2020 to $26,343.6 million in the same 2021 period. Contributing to the improved Visible Trade balance was the increased surplus in the Trade in Mineral Fuels balance, which grew from $7,152.2 million in 2020 to $10,106.6 million in 2021. However, the primary driver of the improved overall Visible Trade balance was a turnaround in the Trade Excluding Mineral Fuels balance, which moved from a deficit of $5,164.4 million in 2020 to a surplus of $182.0 million in 2021.
QUESTIONS
a. Outline, Using examples from the case, TWO (2) reasons for the worsening of each of the following macroeconomic indicator for first quarter of 2021:
- GDP
- Inflation
- Unemployment
