ECLAC: "In 2018, Panama will be the economy that will
record the highest rate of expansion"
The Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) updated its regional
economic projections for the year 2018 in April, noting that "Panama will
be the economy that will record the highest rate of expansion."
In its
report, released on April 11, ECLAC highlighted that considering the Latin
American countries, Panama is ahead of the Dominican Republic (5.0%) and
Nicaragua (5.0%). He did not go into detail about the prospects projected for
each country.
What he did
say was that the projections of activity for Latin America and the Caribbean
take place in an international context "more favorable than in recent
years".
Despite
this, he continued, "important uncertainties persist regarding
protectionist tendencies, financial dynamics and geopolitical risks".
In fact,
"in several countries that have been growing at moderate rates, there will
be an acceleration in economic activity: Chile (3.3%), Colombia (2.6%) and Peru
(3.5%), according to the updated forecasts".
From Capital Financiero |
Regional
projections
As for the
regional average "expansion" for this 2018, ECLAC projected 2.2%,
after growing 1.2% last year, the UN agency reported.
Meanwhile,
the economies of South America would grow 2.0% (compared to 0.8% in 2017),
mainly as a result of the greater dynamism that Brazil will present (2.2%),
ECLAC said in a statement.
For the
Central American economies, the forecast for a growth rate of 3.6% is also
maintained, above the 3.4% recorded in 2017, said ECLAC.