Gross domestic fixed investment for the fiscal year of 2020 decreased 20.97%, according to the most recent Economic Report to the Governor from the fiscal year of 2020. The data for the 2020 fiscal year includes four months of the COVID-19 pandemic when consumption was restricted. Due to the pandemic, consumption in general decreased, and many businesses, particularly in the retail sector, closed or operated in a limited capacity.
The only category that increases during the fiscal year of 2020 was the investment in machinery and equipment in public enterprises by 20.79%.
The categories that decreased the most during the fiscal year of 2020 were industrial, commercial, and other buildings, and construction by 42.27% and 36.82%, as stated.
The effect that the pandemic had on investment cannot be overstated. Despite historically low interest rates, the recession caused by the pandemic led to this historic drop in investment on a global scale. As interest rates are expected to remain low for the foreseeable future and there is more certainty regarding the reopening of the global economy, we can expect investment to increase.
