LatinNews Daily - 24 April 2026

*The Dominican Republic’s central bank (BCRD) has released new figures which show that the country’s monthly index of economic activity (Imae) was up 5.1% in March in annual terms, which it describes as “the biggest rate of expansion of economic activity of the last 11 months”. It said that this brings average accumulated growth during the first quarter to 4.1%. The March figure is up from 3.9% in February and 3.5% in January. According to the BCRD, March growth was driven by the construction sector (+8.0%), hotels, bars, and restaurants (+8.0%), and free zone manufacturing (+7.8%). The latest growth forecast by the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac), released on 16 December, projects the Dominican Republic’s economy will grow 3.6% in 2026, up from 2.9% in 2025.