LatinNews Daily - 16 August 2023

* Colombia’s national statistics department (Dane) has announced that the country’s GDP contracted by 1.0% in the second quarter of 2023 compared with the previous quarter. In year-on-year terms, GDP in Q2 was up by 0.3%, while GDP growth in the first half of 2023 was up by 1.7% compared with the same period last year. This increase in the first six months of the year was mostly driven by artistic, entertainment and recreational activities and other services (+15.5%), financial and insurance services (+12.7%), and public administration, defence, health and education (+3.2%). The finance minister, Ricardo Bonilla, said that the figures show how “the economic slowdown is consolidating”, but added that the report identifies the sectors facing the most significant difficulties, which he said will be targeted to promote economic recovery during the remainder of 2023.