Andina

BBVA Research: The worst is over, Peru's economic normalization to begin in 2H 2020

00:00 | Lima, Jul. 17.

BBVA Research Chief Economist Hugo Perea affirmed that the worst of the pandemic's economic effects is over, and that economic activities will start returning to normality in the second half of the year.

Perea remarked that the BBVA Research macroeconomic projections' baseline scenario suggests that there will be no major outbreaks of the virus that may result in new harsh, widespread, and lengthy isolation measures.

"The worst is likely over, if there are no major outbreaks of the virus," he said during the presentation of the Peru Economic Outlook.

In this context, the economist noted that the relaxation of isolation measures will continue to favor the gradual resumption of operations in different productive sectors.

"The high-frequency indicators show a relative improvement in the economic activity over recent weeks, in the general context of (economic) weakness," he stated.

In this line, Perea pointed out that the economic activity will normalize in the second half of the year, and will grow between 6.5% and 10.5% in 2021.

"The economic improvement in the second half of 2020, however, will not prevent GDP from contracting this year. Said decline is expected to range between -18.0% and -12.0%," he predicted.

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Published: 7/17/2020