* Paraguay’s central bank (BCP) has announced that it expects the country’s GDP to contract by 3.5% this year, down from its previous forecast of a 2.5% contraction, made in April. The BCP confirmed that the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic was hitting the national economy harder than previously anticipated. The biggest losses are expected in the tertiary sector, forecasting an 11.3% contraction in services and 3.1% in trade. Despite predicted contractions in nearly all sectors, the BCP expects to see 8% growth in the primary sector, driven primarily by a 10.5% expansion in agriculture. The BCP’s latest forecast is still better than the 9.1% contraction forecast for Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac).
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