The Central Bank has issued its third quarterly report on the Dominican economy saying that in broad terms, 2014 has been a good year, despite the challenges the country is facing.
As of September, the economy had grown by 7%, which is 3.2% more than during the first nine months of last year, and 4.4% more than at the same time in 2012.
By the end of 2014, the Central Bank predicts the annual growth rate will slow down a little, to 6%, still much higher than the Latin American average growth forecast to be 1.1%.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has confirmed that the Dominican Republic and Panama are the economies that are expected to have the highest growth figures for the year, at 6%, followed by Bolivia (5.2%), Colombia (4.8%) and Nicaragua (4.5%). It is also thought that the trend will continue during 2015.
There are many reasons for the strong growth, including the recovery in the United States that has led to higher remittances being sent to the Dominican Republic, up by nearly 11% as at September, compared to a decline of 0.6% over the same period last year. Tourism has also increased by 8.2% as of September, as well as gold exports from Pueblo Viejo mine that have led the mining sector to grow by 24.1%.
President Danilo Medina promised to create 400,000 new jobs during his term of office and according to the Central Bank, in the last 12 months, 165,799 jobs have been created which has lowered unemployment to 6% from 7%.
In addition, the fall in the cost of petrol by over RD$50 a gallon since June has also assisted with growth.
http://www.diariolibre.com/destacada/2014/12/10/i919991_2014-del-nuevo-milagro-economa-dominicana.html
http://www.bancentral.gov.do/notas_bc/2014/12/09/584/banco-central-informa-inflacion-del-mes-de-noviembre-fue-de-014