ECLAC: "In 2018, Panama will be the economy that will record the highest rate of expansion"

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.