Guyana’s growth rate revised upwards – CDB Country Economic Review Mid-Year Update 2019

The Caribbean Development Bank is making upward revisions to its 2019 forecasts for seven Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) and Guyana is on the list. The CDB, in its Country Economic Review Mid-Year Update 2019, noted that in most cases, upward revisions reflect “better than expected” first quarter data, particularly in the tourism and construction sectors. Guyana is joined by Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Jamaica and Monserrat.

While the CDB projects positive economic growth for the Region, the entity has stated that downward revisions will be made for five BMCs, namely, Grenada, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. The CDB said that factors contributing to the downward revisions include weaker projected energy production in Trinidad and Tobago and fuel shortages which have contributed to an uncertain investment climate in Haiti.

According to the CDB’s Mid-Year Update, overall growth was 2.0%, compared to 0.7% in 2017. In 2018, all BMCs, with the exception of Barbados, experienced positive economic growth which was largely driven by construction and improved tourism performance. The highest rates of growth were experienced in Anguilla and Antigua and Barbuda.

The CDB has noted that increasing global economic uncertainty continues to affect economic performance in the Caribbean. The institution listed rising trade tensions between the United States of America and China, and uncertainty over the outcome of Brexit as factors that may influence economic performance in the region.

In addition, the CDB warned that United States sanctions affecting global supply chains and rising geopolitical tensions will have implications for energy prices, adding to a list of challenges in the global economy that will likely affect small open economies such as BMCs.

The Country Economic Review Mid-Year Update 2019 contains the CDB’s revised summary assessment of economic performance in 2018 for each of the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) 19 Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs), as well as new forecasts for 2019.

A copy of the report can be viewed HERE.