According to the Government Development Bank (GDB) of Puerto Rico, approximately 1.27 million bags of cement were sold in February 2014. This is 12.7% lower than in February 2013. The number of bags of cement sold in FY14 YTD (July 2013 – February 2014) also declined y/y, down 15.6% compared to the corresponding period in 2013.
Economic activity contracted in Puerto Rico in February. GDB-EAI fell by 2.4% y/y in February 2014 alone and by 3.8% y/y in the first eight months of the fiscal year. The GDB-EAI is comprised of four indicators: cement sales, electric power generation, gas consumption and total payroll employment. Electric power generation dropped by 2.2% y/y to 1528 million kWh in February, while preliminary figures suggest that consumption of gasoline declined by some 6.4% y/y to 80.5 million gallons.
Adapted from press release by Louise Fordham