In the first nine months of the year, the Volume Index of Economic Activity and the sales indicator of FUSADES reported positive variations, however, they are lower compared to what was recorded in the same period of 2018.
According to the "Economic Situation Report up to November 2019", prepared by the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES), the Salvadoran economy has experienced a tendency to lose dynamism, in the second quarter of 2019, economic activity grew only 1.98%, which is lower than the 2.71% recorded a year ago.
Fitch Ratings decided to keep the country's risk rating at B, but changed the outlook from negative to stable, arguing that there are some signs of stabilization of Central Bank reserves and commercial bank deposits.
The revision of the outlook reflects the stabilization of central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits, a significant fiscal adjustment and social security reform that have reduced domestic financing needs and a pronounced external rebalancing that has facilitated the external financing requirement, the rating agency reported.
According to the IMF, Honduras has experienced a moderation in economic growth in recent quarters, but a recovery is expected next year.
Honduras has made significant progress in implementing its economic program, which aims to foster inclusive growth through prudent macroeconomic policies and structural and governance reforms, according to the international organization's report.
After the economies of the region grew by 2.6% in 2018 as a whole, the IMF estimates that 2019 would close with a rise of 2.7% and could reach 3.4% by 2020.
The document "World Economic Outlook", prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), states that for Panama the projected growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2019 was reduced from 5% to 4.3%.
During August 2019, the Monthly Economic Activity Index reported a 4.8% year-on-year increase, explained by the exploitation of mines and quarries and financial services.
The monthly indicator of economic activity (IMAE) shows a 4.8% growth in August 2019, maintaining the accumulated average expansion of the period January-August 2019 at 4.7%, which reflects that the Dominican economy has reacted favorably to monetary easing measures implemented from June this year, as expected by the Central Bank, informed the monetary authority.
After the first semester of 2018 reported a 29% year-on-year fall in the flow of Foreign Direct Investment, in the period from January to June 2019 the increase was 52%.
During the first semester of 2019, El Salvador received $435.9 million in net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which allowed it to surpass by far the historical average of the last ten years, informed the Central Reserve Bank.
In the second quarter of the year, Costa Rica's GDP grew 1.4% year-on-year, below the 3% reported for the same period in 2018, which is associated with the evolution of internal demand and external demand for the production of companies under the definitive regime.
In the second quarter of 2019, the country's economic activity, as measured by the trend of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) cycle, grew 1.4%, continuing the loss of dynamism observed since the second quarter of 2018, reported the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR).
Construction and financial intermediation largely determined the 1.9% increase in GDP in the second quarter of the year compared with the same period in 2018.
Financial Intermediation increased 1.2% during the second quarter of 2019, explained by the increase in income received by financial institutions from commissions on financial services (credit and debit cards, drafts and transfers, account management and trusts), plus interest derived from the credit portfolio, reported the Central Bank of Honduras.
Because between 2018 and 2019, the consumer's fixed expense free budget in Costa Rica is estimated to have decreased from 18% to 14% of total revenue, four out of ten buyers made the decision to change brands, and two are considering doing the same.
A study presented by Elfinancierocr.com, explains that women are the most affected by the economic situation of the country, since they said that after subtracting all their fixed costs, they only have 12% of their budget.
Arguing that in the international context a high uncertainty associated to the commercial tensions between the U.S. and China prevails, the Central Bank of Costa Rica decided to lower for the fifth time so far this year the Monetary Policy Rate, this time to 3.75%.
For the monetary authority, the tension between the two world economic powers has led to a slowdown in trade flows and growth projections in our main trading partners.
During the second quarter of the year the constant GDP totaled $10.498 million, 3% more than that reported in the same period of 2018, explained by the activity of transport and trade.
The General Comptroller of the Republic reported that activities related to the domestic economy performed positively this quarter: transportation and communications, commerce, construction, financial intermediation, government services, health and education.
Between February and August of this year, the Consumer Confidence Index decreased six points, as a result of people not perceiving effective and short-term measures that tend to revive the national economy.
The current level of confidence reflects consumers pessimistic about the economic situation, a condition that has been present for a year, according to the report prepared by the School of Statistics of the University of Costa Rica.
Between January and July of this year in Costa Rica the Central Bank lowered the Monetary Policy Rate four times in a row, but its last decision was to maintain it at 4%.
Among the arguments of the monetary authority it is worth highlighting that the international interest rates are adjusted downward. In particular, the US Federal Reserve System reduced the reference interest rate range by 25 base points.
Panama and Honduras were the only two Central American countries to report increases in foreign direct investment in 2018 over the previous year, with year-on-year changes of 36% and 3%, respectively.
The growth of investments directed to Panama, which concentrated 51% of the sub-regional total, explained the increase that was reached in 2018 in Central America (9.4%), since except Panama and Honduras, the Central American countries received less Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) than in 2017, explains the report "Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2019", produced by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
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