MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile's economy to grow 11%, according to IMF report

Chile and the other South American countries are set to grow, except Venezuela

Chile's economy has been projected to grow 11%, way above the average of 6.3% foreseen for Latin America throughout 2021 by the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Global Economic Outlook released Tuesday.

Brazil and Mexico both saw their forecast lowered by one tenth compared to three months ago, to 5.2 and 6.2 %, respectively. In 2020, Latin America's economy contracted 7%, according to the Fund.

Argentina also showed a significant improvement from 6.4% in July's projections to 7.5%. The country is currently negotiating with the IMF a refinancing agreement for its debt of about US $ about 45,000 million. Chile's July projections were of a meager 6.2%.

The IMF once again highlighted Chile's performance as one of the countries in the world with the best production levels and reserves of copper and lithium, which has helped trigger projections. “The economic benefits of higher prices could be substantial for metal-exporting countries,” the report underscored.

Colombia and Peru are also expected to advance in 2021 by 7.6% and 10% respectively, while Central America as a whole will grow by 7.7%.

The Caribbean economies, highly dependent on tourism, will register a 3.6% improvement this year, above July's 2.4%.

Venezuela, on the other hand, will suffer a 5% contraction, still an improvement from July's 10% negative forecast.

By 2022, the IMF experts Latin America to advance just 3%, two tenths less than their previous forecast.