The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic reported that in April 2024, the monthly main economic indicator (MEI) was 7.8%, for an accumulated average growth this 2024 of 5.1%. Economic growth in April 2024 is the highest in the past 28 months.
The Central Bank reports that the interannual variation for January-April 2024 reflects good performance and price stability. The sectors of hotels, bars and restaurants stood out with an average growth of 9.5% in the first four months of the year. Other sector indicators are financial services (7.1%), construction (6.4%), real estate activities (6.1%), free zones (6.0%), energy and water (5.2%), agriculture (3.9%), commerce (3.1%), local manufacturing (2.8%), among others.
According to the Central Bank, the numbers for March were influenced by Easter Week, a major domestic vacation time that in 2024 fell early in March, and by the slowdown in the United States economy. The US is the largest trading partner for the Dominican Republic. As the saying goes, when the US sneezes, the DR gets pneumonia.
One of the motors of the improved economic situation is the continuing policy of liquidity expansion instated by the Central Bank in May 2023. The policy led the way for over RD$196 billion in loans to be approved for the country’s manufacturers, the commercial sector, and the tourism sector, as well as the “mipymes”- the micro, small and medium enterprises that are favored by government loan policies. These loans carry interest rates that cannot go above 9%.
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Central Bank
El Caribe
Diario Libre
27 May 2024