Latin American Countries Will Grow Less Than Expected: World Bank
Latin America and the Caribbean will experience only modest growth this year as the region’s economies suffer from high interest rates and falling commodity prices, the World Bank said in a report released Tuesday.
The Washington-based organization projects that the regional economy as a whole will expand 1.4% through December, lagging all other regions. It had projected 1.6% growth for this year, but consensus growth forecasts in Chile, Argentina and Colombia have worsened since the bank’s last report in October 2022. Activity is seen expanding 2.4% in each of the following two years.
“The forecasts going forward predict the same lackluster pace of the past two decades, which remains insufficient to reduce poverty, promote inclusion, and defuse social tensions,” bank analysts wrote. Fiscal imbalances remain high and will erode the equivalent of 2.7% of regional growth this year, while debt levels are seen at 64.7%, they said.
By Maria Eloisa Capurro via Bloomberg Línea