LatinNews Daily - 27 September 2024

*The Dominican Republic’s central bank (BCRD) has released new figures which show that the country’s monthly index of economic activity (Imae) was up 5.6% in August year-on-year, bringing average year-on-year growth from January to August to 5.1%. The BCRD highlights that this takes place amid a context of price stability in which inflation has remained within the target range of 4.0% +/- 1. According to the BCRD, all sectors registered positive year-on-year growth in August. It highlights financial intermediation (+8.7%); mining (8.5%), free zone manufacturing (8.1%), construction (6.9%), local manufacturing (6.8%), trade (6.2%), and transport (6.0%). The latest growth forecast by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean (Eclac), released on 13 August, projects that the Dominican Republic’s economy will expand 5.2% in 2024 – the highest in Latin America – which would be up from 2.4% in 2023.