Panama: Economy slows in March due to lockdown measures
Economic activity increased 1.4% in year-in-year terms in March, which followed February’s 1.7% increase.
March’s reading marked the weakest growth since May 2018, and was in part due to lockdown measures introduced in the month to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Most notably supporting activity growth in March were the transport, storage and communications, and financial services sectors.
On a month-on-month, seasonally-adjusted basis, economic activity expanded 1.3% in March after contracting 0.6% in February. Meanwhile, annual average growth came in at 2.9%, down from February’s 3.0%.