Latin American Economy & Business - March 2018 (ISSN 1741-7430)

Data from the Contraloria General (the local statistics agency) released in early March show that the economy grew by 5.4% year-on-year in 2017, making Panama the region’s strongest-performer last year. With container traffic through the Panama Canal rising strongly following the completion of the Canal’s expansion, the transport sector was crucial to fuelling growth. Moreover, growth prospects for 2018 remain encouraging, with both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Economic Commission for Latin America (Eclac) forecasting a moderate acceleration this year.