ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA FORECAST BY IMF TO BE AMONG FASTEST-GROWING ECONOMIES IN LAC

The International Monetary Fund is projecting Antigua and Barbuda will be the third fastest-growing economy in Latin America and the Caribbean this year, and the second-fastest growing in 2024. The Washington-based multi-lateral outlines the projections in its World Economic Outlook for April, released on Tuesday. It expects real Gross Domestic Product in Antigua and Barbuda to grow by 5.5% in 2023, behind oil-rich Guyana at 37.2%, and St Vincent and the Grenadines at 6.0%. Turning to 2024, the IMF forecasts Antigua and Barbuda will emerge as the second-fastest growing economy with growth of 5.4%, behind the 45.3% growth projected for Guyana. These are seen by some economic analysts as conservative forecasts, as the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank has projected growth of 9.4% for Antigua and Barbuda in 2023.

The IMF also projects that inflation in Antigua and Barbuda will fall this year from the levels seen in 2022. It says headline inflation is set to moderate to 5.1% in 2023, compared to 9.2% in 2022. Antigua and Barbuda and other countries around the world were buffeted by external inflationary pressures, primarily the challenges from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook is entitled “A rocky recovery”, outlining the downside risks facing sustained global growth.