MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivia's economy grows 5.3% in between January and April 2021

Gas exports to Argentina and Brazil played a key role in Bolivia's economy, Montenegro said

Economic activity in Bolivia has grown 5.3% from January to April 2021, according to The Global Index of Economic Activity (IGAE), Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro announced Tuesday.

“Bolivia is on the path to gradual recovery” of the economy that continues to be threatened by the new coronavirus disease, Montenegro said during a press conference in La Paz.

The high prices of minerals in the international market and the increase in natural gas exports to Argentina and Brazil resulted in the gradual rebound of the economy, which resulted in a positive trade balance of 453 million dollars in the first four months of the year, added the minister.

The minister recalled that Bolivia's economic activity decreased 11.1 per cent in the first half of 2020 due to the political crisis and poor management under interim President Jeanine Añez.

The IGAE is a monthly indicator that shows the evolution of the country's economic activity, to provide an estimate for measuring the behaviour of economic activity in the short term.

The information from the IGAE, being a timely indicator, is disseminated according to the main economic activity of each sector to evaluate accumulated monthly variations, monthly variations compared to similar periods, monthly variation in the last 12 months and monthly series of the “seasonally adjusted” general indexes.