Figures reflect our Jekyll and Hyde economy
On one hand the external trade numbers indicated the ongoing buoyancy of the export side of the economy, while on the other hand the latest data on mortgage lending shows just how dead the housing market is and the extent to which mortgage credit has virtually dried up in the economy.
The trade data for September shows that in the first nine months of the year, the value of merchandise exports, which excludes the services such as tourism that we export, was 4.1% higher than the first nine months of 2010. The value of exports in September was 2.7% higher than September last year. In the first nine months, a total trade surplus of €33.3 billion was recorded, which was almost 2% ahead of the same period in 2010. In the first eight months, exports of food and live animals showed growth of 15%, while exports of chemicals and pharmaceuticals expanded by 8.5%.
