AFP News Agency
Washington, USA.
The economy of Latin America and the Caribbean will grow 1.6% this year, 0.2 percentage points less than anticipated in January, in a context marked by "stubborn" underlying inflation, the IMF indicated yesterday.
In its updated economic outlook, the International Monetary Fund also forecasts that Brazil's economy will expand by 0.9% (-0.3 percentage points compared to the January forecast) and Mexico's by 1.8% (+0.1 pp).
It also forecasts growth of 0.2% for Argentina, 1.8% for Bolivia, 1% for Colombia, 2.9% for Ecuador, 4.5% for Paraguay, 2.4% for Peru, 2% for Uruguay, and 5% for Venezuela. Central America is expected to grow by 3.8%, and the Caribbean by 9.9%.
The Fund says Chile's economy will contract by 1% this year.
The Fund anticipates regional growth of 2.2% by 2024.
Inflation will remain high in 2023, at around 7% globally, but what worries the financial institution most is core inflation, which excludes more volatile items such as food and energy.
His forecasts, which he will complete on Thursday with details about the region, come just days after the World Bank estimated that regional GDP will grow 1.4% in 2023 and 2.4% in 2024, too little "to achieve significant progress in poverty reduction.".
