
In an interview with Asunción's Última Hora, Nigel Chalk, Director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), highlighted the importance of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms to bolster resilience and growth potential, particularly amid shifting global conditions. The interview coincided with the launch of the IMF's Economic Outlook for the Americas report.
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The International Monetary Fund said today that it now expects Latin America's economy to shrink 0.3% this year instead of growing 0.5%, largely due to a steep recession in Brazil and slumping commodity prices. It would be the first recession for the Latin American and Caribbean region since 2009.

The IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for the Western Hemisphere, released on Thursday in Lima, Peru, projects regional growth of 2½ percent in 2014, down from 2¾ percent in 2013. Weak investment and subdued demand for the region’s exports held back activity in 2013, as did increasingly binding supply bottlenecks in a number of economies. For 2015, the IMF projects a modest pickup, to 3%.