The Dominican economy grew on average 5.1% during the period January-November 2024, compared to the same period last year, and the country’s economy has the highest year-on-year increase compared to its Latin America peers.
In November, growth was 3.9%, compared to the same month last year, according to the Monthly Economic Activity Indicator.
This performance is supported by the significant contribution from the activities that make up the services sector, which showed a cumulative increase of 5.4% compared to the same period last year, highlighting hotels, bars and restaurants (9.4%), financial services (9.2%), energy and water (7.9%), transportation and storage (5.7%), commerce (4.8%) and professional services (4.8%). On the other hand, the mining and quarrying sector fell 5.1%, according to a statement from the Dominican Central Bank (BCRD).
In November, the local manufacturing sector grew 6.7%, services 4.9%, free zone manufacturing 2.1% and mining and quarrying 1.9%, while the construction sector fell 4.9%.
The Central Bank highlights that this growth took place in a context where year-on-year inflation was 3.18%, at the end of November, remaining in the lower part of the target range of 4.0% since December 2023.
The arrival of passengers through the various airports around the country, which reached 7,651,571 tourists at the end of November, added to the 2,291,088 cruise passengers totaled 9,942,659 visitors, accounts for the growth hotel, bar and restaurant industry. Forecasts say that the number of visitors will exceed 11 million by the end of the year.
An 11.8% expansion of credit granted to the private sector in national currency, equivalent to an additional RD$190,946.5 million compared to November last year, accounts for the growth in the financial intermediation sector so far this year.
The growth of the construction sector is a reflection of the increase in sales volumes of the main inputs used in the development of infrastructure works. Specifically, local cement sales in metric tons grew 3.5% during January-November 2024, compared to the same period last year.
The BCRD explains that, although mining registered a negative variation during these months, results have been positive since August, supported by the increase in gold production in the country’s main deposit, predicting a favorable performance for the coming months. On the other hand, the agricultural industry saw increases in the production of plantain, bananas, avocados, eggs, chicken, among others.
The BCRD highlighted that the economic performance of the United States, with an annualized quarter-on-quarter growth of 3.1% and an expansion rate higher than the long-term historical average, has contributed favorably to the Dominican economy, given the country’s multiple interrelations with its main trading partner through various channels such as remittances, tourism, net exports and foreign direct investment.
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