A very good year for all economic activities: Central Bank

Santo Domingo.- The Central Bank on Wednesday revealed favorable performance on all economic activities, especially mining, with a 20.9% growth; construction 11.4%, tourism 9.6%, agricultural 5.2%, domestic manufacturing 5%, commerce 4.7%, hotels, bars and restaurants 7.9%, brokerage and financial services 8.6%, health 8.4% and education 7.6%.

Central Banker Hector Valdez, citing preliminary figures, cited private sector construction projects such as affordable housing, hotels and others in expansion; government investment with the construction of 562 schools with around 10,000 classrooms; road infrastructure; the second Metro line, streets, avenues, hospitals, bridges, roads and others.

Low inflation

The official also revealed that at 1.58% of GDP, 2014 posted the lowest inflation of the last 30 years, also the second- lowest inflation in Latin America, after El Salvador a dollarized economy.

Valdez said foreign investment topped US$2.2 billion at yearend 2014, or $247.1 million higher than in 2013, a 12.4% growth.

He attributed the performance e to the growth in retail, energy and tourism, “confirming that Dominican Republic has established itself as an attractive destination for direct foreign investment."

He added that remittances surpassed US$4.6 billion, or 8.4% more than in 2013, equal to US$ 357.7 million, a 6.5% increase.