The World Bank expects Argentina’s economy to grow by 4.2 percent in 2022 and 2 percent in 2023.
This is according to the organization’s latest report, titled “New Approaches to Closing the Fiscal Gap,” released Tuesday.
The multilateral organization lowered its growth forecast by 0.3 percentage points from last June’s forecast, which estimated the South American country’s economic growth at 4.5 percent.
The institute also predicted that inflation in Argentina would be 91.84 percent annually this year, which is in line with the estimates of private institutions surveyed by the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA).
The World Bank’s chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, William Maloney, said Argentina would be one of the countries with the highest inflation rate.
However, he said it is “early” to predict hyperinflation.
“Argentina, of course, is one of the countries in the region with higher-than-average inflation rates, and that has been the case for several years and is a significant concern.”
We are confident that the program will stay on track with the International Monetary Fund.
They need to stay the course and see how it goes,” Maloney said at the regional report launch.
“The idea is to bring inflation down and keep the fiscal budget healthy. It’s too early to talk about hyperinflation,” he added.
The World Bank representative confirmed the organization’s support for Argentina’s financial program with the IMF to settle its US$44.5 billion debt.
“We hope that the $45 billion loan program with the IMF will continue; we support it,” he said.