Analysts Forecast 5.5% Drop in Uruguay’s GDP in 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Financial analysts downgraded their 2020 economic forecast for Uruguay, from the 5.1 percent drop in gross domestic product (GDP) projected in December, to 5.5 percent drop, the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) said on Wednesday, January 20th.

The result is an average of responses to a survey of economists and analysts, with the most pessimistic forecasting a 6.1 percent drop in GDP and the most optimistic, a 4 percent decline.

Uruguay’s economy shrank 5.9 percent in the third quarter of 2020 year on year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on economic activity, according to the latest BCU National Accounts Report.

The government expects the economy to contract 3.5 percent in 2020 and a rapid recovery in 2021 with a 4.3 percent expansion in GDP.

In 2019, the economy grew 0.3 percent, marking 17 years of growth, but with strong signs of stagnation in recent years.