Dominican Republic: Pace of economic growth remains solid in Q1

According to preliminary data from the Central Bank, the economy grew 6.1% in the first quarter of the year. Q1’s expansion matched the robust growth tallied in the previous quarter.

According to the Central Bank, Q1’s reading mainly came on the back of stronger growth in the mining and quarrying sector, which marked an impressive 33.8% year-on-year expansion (Q4: -12.8% year-on-year). This expansion was due to the resumption of gold and silver mining, which were virtually paralyzed in the same quarter last year. The local manufacturing growth rate accelerated from Q4’s 3.9% to 4.0%, while manufacturing activity in the country’s special economic zones swung from 8.5% growth to a 1.9% drop. The agricultural sector recorded a 1.9% increase (Q4: -1.2% yoy), which was mainly attributable to the battery of actions implemented by the government to counter the effects of the recent drought. Finally, growth in the services sector decreased slightly; the expansion was driven by growth in activity in the financial and the retail sales sectors.

The government predicts that the economy will grow 5.0% in both 2016 and 2017. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast participants see the economy growing 5.3% in 2016, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast. For 2017, panelists expect the economy to expand 4.4%.