LatinNews Daily - 22 June 2020

* Julio Velarde, the president of Peru’s central bank (BCRP), has warned that the country faces “the biggest drop [in GDP] in the last hundred years”, after the BCRP revised its economic growth projection for 2020 to predict a 12.5% contraction. This is in line with the World Bank’s recent forecast that Peru’s economy will decline by 12% this year, the third largest predicted contraction in the world – although Velarde noted that the BCRP is predicting 11.5% growth in 2021, well above the 7% quoted by the World Bank. He voiced optimism that “if sensible monetary and fiscal measures are applied, perhaps we can recover quickly”, but acknowledged that the effects of this crash will be immediate, with the country’s poverty rate expected to rise to 27.4% this year, up from 20.5% in 2019.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 137 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial