MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay on pace to the fifth running year of growth

Uruguay's economy expanded 6.7% during the first nine months of 2007 compared to the same period last year, driven by the transportation and communications sectors, the Central Bank reported on Monday.

The Uruguayan economy grew by 6.2% in the third quarter. The release of growth figures comes days after the Uruguayan government raised its forecast for 2007 economic growth to 7.25% from 5.25%. The Uruguayan economy is on pace for a fifth straight year of growth after a crippling economic crisis in 2002. Sustained advance in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors helped the economy expanded by 7% in 2006. The Uruguayan central bank also announced the country had bought back a total of 240 million US dollars in sovereign bonds, repurchasing 116 million in international paper and 124 million in domestic bonds. When it first announced the buyback, the government said it would use up to 500 million US dollars in the operation, aimed at reducing its foreign currency debt and extending maturities. In an official joint statement with the Economy Ministry the bank revealed that Uruguay had bought back global bonds denominated in US dollars and euros, maturing in or before 2012. The government also repurchased local bonds denominated in dollars and others in pesos, which are inflation-adjusted. The settlement date is set for Dec. 17, the ministry said and Citigroup Global Markets Inc was the deal's lead manager. In October 2006, creditors tendered 1.17 billion US dollars of eligible bonds in a debt swap by Uruguay, which aimed to scrap lightly traded bonds and extend the country's debt maturities. According to the latest central bank report (June), the country's gross debt stands at 15.6 billion US dollars.