{"id":12627,"date":"2026-09-29T17:17:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmklawyers.com\/?p=12627"},"modified":"2026-09-29T17:17:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:17:32","slug":"dominican-economic-activity-grows-4-5-from-january-to-august","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmklawyers.com\/en\/dominican-economic-activity-grows-4-5-from-january-to-august\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominican economic activity grows 4.5% from January to August"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The monthly indicator of economic activity (IMAE) grew an average of 4.5% from January through August 2026, up from 2.3% in the same period a year earlier, according to preliminary figures released Monday by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In August, the IMAE rose 3.8% year over year, led by higher real value added in construction (7.9%), free zone manufacturing (3.4%) and local manufacturing (3.1%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Services grew 4.1% overall, led by financial activities (9.4%), education (6.1%), energy and water (6.0%), and other market services (6.0%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Transportation and storage (3.7%), commerce (3.2%), public administration (3.1%), health (2.8%), professional services (2.7%), communications (2.6%), and hotels, bars and restaurants (2.3%) also posted gains. Mining (-14.6%) and agriculture (-1.4%) declined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Construction growth was driven by private residential and nonresidential projects and by civil engineering works tied to government capital spending, boosting sales of key sector inputs and materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Institutional reforms that have made approvals for new projects faster and more transparent also supported the sector\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Construction credit also stood out, rising 16.2% year over year at the end of August\u2014more than 26,000 million pesos above the same period a year earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manufacturing and tourism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Free zone manufacturing grew year over year in August, supported by strong exports of tobacco, jewelry and related articles, and electrical products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local manufacturing grew a moderate 3.1%, supported by nonmetallic mineral products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, according to the BCRD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mining contracted 14.6% year over year in August, mainly because scheduled maintenance at the country\u2019s principal plant reduced gold extraction. Even so, the sector grew 3.6% from January through August 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Growth in hotels, bars, and restaurants in August was driven mainly by an increase in nonresident air arrivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The country received 725,481 tourists in August, 2.6% more than in August 2025. From January through August 2026, international arrivals through all airports totaled 6,610,506, an 8.6% increase from the same period a year earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This performance reflects Ministry of Tourism promotion strategies designed to strengthen the country\u2019s presence in key source markets and diversify visitors\u2019 countries of origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Financial intermediation, insurance and related activities grew 9.4% year over year, driven mainly by higher commissions from foreign exchange transactions, credit cards, money orders, transfers, guarantees and other services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The insurance sector\u2019s performance and a 7.6% nominal increase in private-sector credit in domestic and foreign currency\u2014187,000 million pesos more than in August 2025\u2014also contributed to the month\u2019s result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agriculture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Agriculture\u2019s real value added fell 1.4% year over year in August 2026, largely because drought affected several regions of the country in recent months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reported production of rice, legumes, tubers, pigs and other products declined from the same month a year earlier. As a result, agriculture grew 1.9% from January through August 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The January\u2013August 2026 result aligns with the roughly 4.5% growth projected in the macroeconomic framework agreed by the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Central Bank. If achieved, it would far exceed the International Monetary Fund\u2019s 2.4% average forecast for Latin America this year and more than double the growth recorded in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The monthly indicator of economic activity (IMAE) grew an average of 4.5% from January through August 2026, up from 2.3% in the same period a year earlier, according to preliminary figures released Monday by the Central Bank of the Dominican…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":12625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[149],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investment-in-dr"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n