Malta continued to register extraordinary growth in its exports in July, according to the latest data issued in Brussels.
Concurrently, inflation in September rose significantly when compared to August, although on an annual basis it is still one of the lowest in the eurozone.
According to Eurostat, the EU’s statistics arm, Malta registered the second largest growth in exports in the eurozone between January and July.
Surpassed only by Estonia, Malta’s exports reached a value of €1.6 billion in the first seven months of the year; an increase of 47 per cent, or €500 million, over the same period in 2010.
Estonia, which joined the euro at the beginning of the year, posted a growth of 51 per cent.
Although many, including the European Commission, are predicting a slower growth in the EU’s economy over the next few months, with many also considering a poss-ible recession, so far, all eurozone countries have registered increases in exports – a main indicator of economic growth – even though to different degrees.
Germany (14 per cent) and France (nine per cent), the motors of the eurozone’s eco-nomy, are still growing but at a slower pace.
Malta also increased the value of goods it imported by €500 million to reach €2.2 billion by July. Here, a growth of 26 per cent was registered.
Lower imports in Greece (-20 per cent) and Cyprus (- one per cent) indicate the economic problems faced by these countries.
Less positive statistics issued in Brussels yesterday show that inflation rose significantly last month, although, so far, inflation in Malta is still lower than in the rest of the eurozone.
In September, annual inflation reached 2.7 per cent, a 0.4 per cent increase over the previous month.
The eurozone’s annual rate of inflation in September peaked to three per cent, a rise of 0.5 per cent over August.
Eurostat said the main components with the highest annual rates in September 2011 were transport (5.9 per cent), housing (five per cent) and alcohol and tobacco (3.7 per cent).
The lowest annual rates were observed for communications (-1.9 per cent), recreation and culture (0.5 per cent) and household equipment (1.3 per cent).
Concerning the detailed sub-indices, fuels for transport (0.55 percentage points), heating oil (0.19) and electricity (0.12) had the largest upward impacts on the headline rate while telecommunications (-0.16), vegetables (-0.11) and rents (-0.10) had the biggest downward effect.