Economic developments in Puglia in the year 2005Update

In the first half of the year the economy of the Puglia region showed signs of recovery. The improvement in the cyclical situation varied from sector to sector. In industry excluding construction, production accelerated, fueled mainly by demand for intermediate and capital goods. Export growth was limited; it was braked by the performance of basic metals and metal products, which in the past years had sustained regional exports, and by the further loss of market shares in the traditional sectors. Activity increased slightly in the construction sector, in line with the modest rate of growth recorded last year. In the first half of 2006 the value of retail sales remained basically stable, reflecting the sluggishness of household consumption. Employment showed renewed growth, ending a three-year contraction. The credit aggregates expanded rapidly, faster than in 2005. The acceleration was mainly due to lending to firms; lending to households maintained the high rate of growth of the previous year.