The continuing weakness in the multinational sector and in construction is evidenced in new statistics published yesterday.

Trade figures released by the Central Statistics Office showed continuing deceleration in the growth of imports and exports in October, while industrial production figures showed weakness in the computers and office machinery sectors. Wholesale price index figures for last month showed construction prices are now well off their August peak.

Provisional trade figures for October show both imports and exports down on the revised figures for March but up on the September levels, though imports remained below the October 2000 level. Seasonally adjusted figures show imports of £3.73 billion (€4.74 billion) in October, down from £3.83 billion in September. Exports increased to £6.29 billion in October. The Minister of State for Trade, Mr Tom Kitt, said that while the impact of the global slowdown was being felt in slower export growth, exports this year would be substantially higher than in 2000.

The industrial production index shows a 4 per cent fall year-on-year in October in the unadjusted index, compared with a 5.9 per cent annual increase to end-September. In the sectoral breakdown, the adjusted figures show a 29.6 per cent annualised drop in the production of office machinery and computers, a 21 per cent fall in machinery and equipment and a 20 per cent fall in electrical and optical equipment.

Adjusted figures for the three months to end-October show a 1.7 per cent rise in production over the preceding three months. Production of "other foods" showed the biggest increase compared with the corresponding three months of 2000, with a rise of 35.4 per cent, while the biggest fall was in radio, television and communication equipment - where production was down 36 per cent. Increases were recorded in consumer goods, up 11.4 per cent, and in intermediate products, up 6.1 per cent, while the production of capital goods fell by 8.9 per cent. The wholesale price index shows that factory gate prices rose by 0.4 per cent in November, bringing the year-on-year increase in the index to 0.5 per cent, down from the 0.8 per cent rise year-on-year to end October.