Economic activity registered a strong increase of 10.6% in March, with respect to the same month last year, when the Dominican economy came to a grinding halt due to the outbreak of the pandemic, according to data offered today by the Central Bank.
This is the second consecutive month of growth, after a 1.1% increase in February, which indicates a “firm” recovery trend, according to the governor of the Central Bank, Héctor Valdez Albizu.
The country had chained eleven consecutive months with declines in the economic activity index, the most accentuated being in April 2020, with a plunge of 29.8 %.
“Although uncertainty still persists due to the pandemic and its effects, the outlook for the Dominican Republic remains favorable,” said the governor of the Central Bank at a press conference.
According to the forecasting system of the issuing entity, for the year 2021 a gross domestic product (GDP) growth between 5.5% and 6.0% is projected.
Among other indicators, Albizu pointed out that the current account deficit is “practically covered twice” by both foreign direct investment figures and remittances, which has contributed to maintaining exchange rate stability.
Remittances maintained their dynamism in March, reaching 994.9 million in the month, for an inter-annual growth of 91.3 %.
Total exports of goods in March presented a growth of 7.5%, which meant an increase of 203.1 million.
Particularly, Albizu highlighted the 12.1 % increase in exports from free trade zones.EFE
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