The Dominican government has once again revised its economic growth projection for 2023, reflecting increased uncertainty both internationally and domestically. The initial estimate of 4.25% growth in March was later lowered to 4% in June, and further reduced to 3% in August, according to the Ministry of Economy’s Macroeconomic Panorama 2023-2027 report.
While economic activity saw a year-on-year growth of 2.9% in July 2023, the cumulative growth for the first seven months of the year was only 1.4%, compared to 5.5% in July of the previous year. The Ministry of Economy attributes the expansion registered until July to improvements in local manufacturing, construction, commerce, and transport, possibly influenced by liquidity provisions and reductions in the monetary policy rate implemented by the Central Bank.
Looking ahead to 2024, the economic outlook appears more positive, albeit with a narrower range. The projected real gross domestic product (GDP) expansion is anticipated to be between 4.50% and 5.00%, with a central projection of 4.75%. This represents a 0.25 percentage point reduction from the previous forecast.
