BCR: Peru is fastest-recovering economy in Latin America

Photo: ANDINA/Diffusion

15:15 | Lima, Dec. 17.

The Central Reserve Bank (BCR) on Thursday affirmed that Peru's economy is the one which has been recovering at the fastest pace in Latin America since July 2020 —after being the one that registered the greatest declines during the previous months.

"Since July, the Peruvian economy is no longer the one that falls the most, but rather the one that is recovering the fastest in relative terms," said BCR Economic Studies Central Manager Adrian Armas.

"In fact, the data published by INEI concerning a 3.8% decline in gross domestic product (GDP) last October was smaller than what the market and the Central Bank had expected," he added.

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI), the Peruvian economy registered decreases in March (-16.25%), April (-39.19%), May (-32.31%), June (-17.85%), July (-11.63 %), August (-9.71%), and September (-6.95%).

"What is currently being observed with this faster recovery in the economic activity is that we are starting to see forecasts featuring a smaller contraction (for Peru in 2020)," he indicated.

Likewise, the BCR official noted that this COVID-19 crisis caught Peru after a period of 21 years of continuous growth, in a long context of macroeconomic stability. Thus, this is a situation that had not been witnessed since 1921.

"One of the greatest strengths that our economy had in the last 20 years was the responsible management of public finances," he noted.

According to the official, "Peru is the country that last year had the lowest level of public debt as percentage of GDP and the second in terms of international reserves."

"This is not by chance, because it is linked to the fact that in this century Peru has the second-lowest inflation rate among emerging countries, and the third in terms of growth rate," he concluded.

Remarks were made at the 31st Annual Seminar of the Consortium for Economic and Social Research (CIES 2019): Challenges and opportunities in the new global context.

(END) CNA/JJN/MVB

Published: 12/17/2020

BCR: Peru is fastest-recovering economy in Latin America

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