Suriname has highest economic contraction

The latest report from the United Nation agency ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) indicates an economic contraction of 10.4 % for Suriname which means that Suriname is doing worse than Venezuela which has an economic contraction of 9.7%. According to the report, the region will close out 2016 with an average contraction of 1.1%. South America will be the subregion most affected, with a decline of -2.4%, while the Caribbean will contract by 1.7% and Central America will have positive growth of 3.6%. After two consecutive years of economic contraction, Latin America and the Caribbean will reportedly experience a modest growth of 1.3% in 2017. The United Nations regional organization calls for revived publicprivate investment in order to resume short- and longterm growth and confront the risks and growing uncertainties posed by the international scenario. “We are at a turning point. Latin America and the Caribbean will resume growth but moderately and without clear engines driving it. Its recovery will be fragile as long as the uncertainties of the economic context continue, particularly the recently observed protectionist trends. For this reason, resuming the path of regional growth requires much caution and a reversal of the investment process dynamic, which will demand a significant mobilization of financial resources”, stated Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) during a press conference in Santiago, Chile, where the document was presented.