LatinNews Daily - 24 November 2023

*Costa Rica’s finance ministry has released new figures which show that as of October 2023, the country registered a primary surplus of ¢822.65bn (US$1.55bn), equivalent to 1.7% of GDP. This is a reduction of 0.6 percentage points compared with the same period in 2022 when it came in at 2.3% of GDP. The government, led by President Rodrigo Chaves, stated that this was the third consecutive year that a primary surplus had been recorded in the first ten months of the year, and that this year’s result was the second highest in the past 18 years in terms of total value and the fifth highest as a percentage of GDP. According to the finance ministry, this result was mainly achieved due to the control of primary spending, which grew by only 1.0%, below the historical average growth of 10.4%. The report also noted that reviews by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had resulted in the disbursement of funds totalling some US$756m, allowing Costa Rica to strengthen its debt profile, adding that the second placement of Eurobonds for US$1.5bn was successfully “reflecting international trust in Costa Rica”. The finance ministry also highlighted a positive trend in the debt-to-GDP ratio, currently forecast to stand at 59.8% at the end of 2023, a decrease of 3.2 percentage points from the 63% recorded at the close of 2022 and below the 61.8% previously forecast.

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