MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay admits “modest” impact from global slowdown

The Uruguayan government admitted it expects growth to slow down as a consequence of the international financial crisis which is spreading to the real economy as demand retracts in the main world blocks.

Following the regular Monday ministerial cabinet meeting, Deputy Minister of Finance Andres Masoller said that some of the symptoms have already been felt in certain export industries, but he insisted that the slowdown "would be modest" and he discarded a recession. "The Uruguayan economy will continue to grow, but at a slower pace, and we are in better conditions than other countries in the region" to face the current global situation added Masoller. He pointed out that Uruguay has been growing at a faster pace that the Latinamerican average "and this will consolidate, so next year we expect a better performance of our economy compared to the rest of the region". However when asked if the forecast for 2009 remained unchanged, Masoller replied that it would depend on events in the coming two to three weeks. "We must first see how the crisis evolves and begins to impact on the economies of developed countries, and once we have this picture clearer we can evaluate how this will reach or influence different sectors of the Uruguayan economy", pointed out the official. "That will let us know if our growth estimate for 2009 remains of must be reviewed". Uruguay is forecasted to expand over 7% this year and 5.5% in 2009, according to IMF and other international estimates.