IMF predicts growth for Ecuador and the region

Ecuadornews:

According to the agency, the country will grow 2.5% this year. The World Bank warned of high levels of indebtedness in the economies of Latin America.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Ecuador will grow 2.5% this year and 2.2% in 2019, according to the report “World Economic Outlook”, presented this Tuesday, April 17.

The IMF improved by 1.9 points its estimate of 0.6% last October for 2018.

The new projection is two tenths lower than the 2.7% growth achieved by Ecuador in 2017, according to IMF calculations, although the Central Bank of Ecuador (ECB) indicated in March that the national economy advanced 3% last year.

The projection of the IMF is superior to that of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) that predicted last week that our country will grow 2% this year.

For Latin America, the IMF predicts growth of 2%, above the 1.3% registered in 2017. Apart from Ecuador, other states that contribute to the momentum of the region are Brazil, Mexico and Chile.

For Venezuela, real GDP is expected to fall 15% in 2018 and 6% more in 2019; crisis intensified by the collapse of production and oil exports.

The international body recommends that economies stimulate the diffusion of new technologies, support workers displaced by these structural changes and invest in young people to improve employment opportunities.

Another message seeks the union of the countries. “Global integration has helped facilitate cross-border flows of knowledge, dissemination of innovations and increased productivity between countries,” the report also suggests.

The World Bank (WB) recommended that the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean take advantage of the general growth climate to strengthen their fiscal positions.

“Persistent deficits and high levels of indebtedness can jeopardize the achievements of recent decades, such as low inflation, the reduction of poverty and inequality and the generation of inclusive growth,” said the chief economist of the WB for America. Latina and the Caribbean, Carlos Vegh.

Minister Viteri visits the multilaterals this week

Ecuador, represented by the Minister of Economy and Finance, María Elsa Viteri, will participate this week in the Spring Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, which will culminate on April 22.

These are Viteri’s first approaches with the IMF and the World Bank.

During the presentation of the economic program, the minister indicated that, among her strategies to re-profiling the country’s debt, she analyzed improving relations with multilateral organizations to improve net flows. (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/economia/4/fmi-crecimiento-ecuador-economia