The Central Bank reported that the Monthly Economic Activity Indicator (IMAE) registered a year-on-year expansion of 5.8% in June, higher than the 4.8% observed in May and 4.7% in April 2022. This result means that the average IMAE growth for January-June of this year stood at 5.6% compared to the same period last year.
As for domestic prices performance, the monthly variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 0.64% in June 2022, placing year-on-year inflation from June 2021 to June 2022 at 9.48%
“In the domestic sphere, the outlook remains positive, with a gross domestic product (GDP) expansion forecast of 5.0%, a rate close to potential, according to the Central Bank’s forecasting system and in line with what has been indicated by multilateral organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank,” the bank said.
The Central Bank governor explained that the result of June 2022 was supported, in part, by the favorable performance of the Free Zones industries and mining, as well as by a good performance in service activities, as a whole, the Hotels, Bars and Restaurants sector in particular, impacted by the arrival of 645,000 tourists, an all-time high for the month of June.
“Similarly, activities such as trade, transportation, local manufacturing, health, agriculture and other services had an important impact on the increase in value added in that month,” he said.
The institution emphasized that the performance of Dominican economic activity during the period January-June 2022 is mainly supported by the sectors that showed higher growth rates in their real value added, such as: hotels, bars and restaurants (34.3%); health (11.6%); other service activities (10.3%); free zones manufacturing (8.6%); public administration (8.5%); transport and storage (8.0%); trade (6.6%); energy and water (6.3%); and financial services (5.6%), among others.
External Sector
As for the external sector, the Central Bank reports a sustained favorable performance, despite ongoing adverse conditions in the international arena.
The total exports of goods during the first half of the year showed a growth of 16.5% compared to the same period of 2021, meaning an increase of US$ 991.4 million. “This increase is accounted for by the performance of free zones exports, which were 14.6% higher, driven by the manufacture of medical and surgical equipment, textiles, clothing and jewelry.”
Preliminary: US$ 1,870.9 million in foreign direct investment between January / June 2022.
According to the report, national exports registered an 18.9% rebound, mainly in the industrial sector, with a variation of 54.1%, highlighting steel rods, growing US$ 50.0 million (156.7%), and chemical products by US$ 26.5 million (35.2%). In the mining sector ferronickel exports rose by $86.4 million (46.9%).
Meanwhile, remittances reached US$ 4,861.1 million during the January-June period, showing a slight year-on-year decrease of 7.6%, but surpassing 2019 by 40.6%.
In the first half of 2022, tourism revenues recorded $4,121.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 92.5%.
As for imports, in the January-June semester imports grew 36.6%, including non-oil companies increasing 27.4%, “a sign of a reactivated demand for inputs for production and final consumer goods”.
MORE INFORMATION
- Activities generating foreign exchange helped the relative stability of the exchange rate, reflected in a 4.8% appreciation of the local currency at the end of June.
- International reserves stood at around $14.45 billion as of June 2022, equivalent to about 13.3% of GDP and about six months of imports, exceeding the metrics recommended by the IMF.
- The open unemployment rate registered a year-on-year decrease of 2.4 percentage points, going from 7.6% in April-June 2021 to 5.2% in the same quarter of 2022.
- Total employment (both formal and informal) increased by 169,309 workers in April-June 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year, to reach 4,702,017 employed.
LABOUR MARKET
According to the bank’s report, labor market indicators continue to show an upward trend towards recovery associated with the favorable development of the Dominican economy.
The results of the National Continuous Survey of Labor Force for April-June 2022 show that the total number of employed people (both formal and informal) reached 4,702,017 workers for a year-on-year increase of 169,309 net employed (3.7%).
5.8% growth registered by the Dominican economy in the month of June 2022
The current employment rate is 59.9%, equal to 1.9 percentage points higher than that registered in the second half of last year.
Source:
Diario Libre
