LatinNews Daily - 17 March 2026

*Panama’s comptroller general’s office has released new figures from the national statistics institute (Inec), showing that the country’s economy expanded 4.4% in 2025. This is up from 2.7% in 2024, on the latest figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to Inec, growth in 2025 was driven by transport, which was up 14.5% - particularly the Panama Canal, which posted a 22.0% increase in revenue. Meanwhile trade grew 3.6%, while construction expanded 2.7%, and financial intermediation was up 5.2%. However, agriculture dropped 1.7%. Also yesterday, Inec released new inflation figures showing that the monthly inflation rate in February was 0.1%, bringing the annual rate to -0.1%. This compares with monthly inflation of 0.2% in January, although the annual rate was not released. Last year closed with -0.2% annual deflation.

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