RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Colombia’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow between 1% and 5% in 2022, with 3% being the most likely figure, the central bank estimated on Monday, lowering its previous projections.
The bank had earlier projected growth of between 2% and 6% for 2022, with 3.6% being the most likely figure.
In its new quarterly report, the agency’s technical team projected that the Colombian economy would have slowed its contraction rate in the first quarter this year to a low of 0.3%, down from an estimated 4.8% drop in its January report.
However, the Central Bank improved its GDP growth projection for 2021 to a range between 3% and 7%, with 6% being the most likely figure than the previous estimate of growth between 2% and 6%, with 4.6% being the central level.
“The better momentum observed in economic activity compared to that projected, the increase in oil and other export commodity prices, along with the expected increase in public spending this year, explain the increase in economic growth projected for 2021,″ the bank’s quarterly report stated.
In terms of inflation, the monetary authority raised projections for this year to 3%, from the 2.3% initially forecast and 2.8% for 2022, from the 2.7% previously estimated.