Caribbean & Central America - May 2007 (ISSN 1741-4458)
PANAMA: ECONOMIC OVERVIEW
The Cámara de Comercio de Panamá said on 7 May that its consumer confidence index had dipped by 2.2 percentage points to 93.8%. Domingo Latorraca, the president of the Cámara said that while consumer confidence had dipped business confidence remained high. He said that businesses were pleased by their sales in the first quarter of 2007.
Inflation: Inflation rose for the seventh consecutive month in April 2007. This means that for the first four months prices have risen by 2% compared with 1.4% in the first four months of 2006. Year-on-year prices are 2.7% higher. The biggest rises are in food (4.2%); transport (3.6%) and housing (3.2%). Local economists say that prices are being pushed higher by capacity constraints in local businesses. This is likely to have an effect on exports, since the domestic market remains reasonably buoyant.
Shipping: The number of ships registered in Panama increased 5.4% in the first quarter of 2007 to 339.
Inflation: Inflation rose for the seventh consecutive month in April 2007. This means that for the first four months prices have risen by 2% compared with 1.4% in the first four months of 2006. Year-on-year prices are 2.7% higher. The biggest rises are in food (4.2%); transport (3.6%) and housing (3.2%). Local economists say that prices are being pushed higher by capacity constraints in local businesses. This is likely to have an effect on exports, since the domestic market remains reasonably buoyant.
Shipping: The number of ships registered in Panama increased 5.4% in the first quarter of 2007 to 339.