Ecuador’s Central Bank foresees 2021 growth rebound of 2.8%

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (REUTERS) On Tuesday, June 1, Ecuador’s Central Bank said it expected the economy to grow 2.8% this year, a strong recovery after a 7.8% contraction in 2020, as the country struggled with the coronavirus pandemic.

That forecast, nonetheless, was down from an estimated 3.1% growth the bank made in November of last year. The entity said the economy’s performance would depend on whether President Guillermo Lasso’s newly installed government maintained a US$6.5 billion financing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the implementation of its vaccination plan.

The bank added that it expected the price of crude oil, the nation’s main export, to rise this year, helping the economy expand.

Lasso, a conservative ex-banker who took office on May 24, has pledged to review some terms of the IMF deal – especially a recommendation by the Fund to raise some taxes, which he has said he would not implement.

As part of its economic stimulus plan, the government on Monday began implementing a plan to inoculate 9 million Ecuadoreans during his first 100 days in office, though Lasso has recognized challenges to acquiring the requisite number of doses. Ecuador has some 17.5 million citizens.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by David Gregorio)