President Leonel Fernandez promises that the DR will continue to be one of the Latin American countries to post the highest rates of growth despite increasing fuel prices and the damage caused by tropical storms Noel and Olga late this year. Fernandez says there will be growth with stability and low interest rates, which have marked his first three years in government. He said he was optimistic that 2008 will be a good year. He stressed that the Dominican economy grew more than 7.2% in 2007, when forecasts by international organizations were for 6% growth. Fernandez was speaking while distributing Christmas baskets in the province of Santo Domingo on Christmas Eve.
“What we promised — stability and growth with generation of jobs — has been accomplished”. He estimated that 400,000 new jobs have already been created, as reported in Hoy.
Economy, Planning and Development Minister Temistocles Montas announced 5.5% growth for the country and inflation of 5.81% for next year. On the downside, he said that petroleum imports for 2007 would be US$3.2 billion, or 7.7% of the Gross Domestic Product.