Dominican Republic tops region with Q1 growth of 6.5%

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s economy grew 6.5% in the first quarter this year, Central banker Hector Valdez said on the bank’s website Tuesday.

"The revitalization of economic activity and accumulated demand predicts a GDP growth of around 6.5%," Valdez said, citing expansion for the period in sectors such as construction (14.9%) and retail (10.6%).

He said the 6.5% growth in the first quarter made the Dominican Republic the region’s economic leader, beating Panama (5.1%), Guatemala (4.4%), Honduras (3.4%), Nicaragua (2.8%) , Chile (2.4%), Mexico (2.3%), Costa Rica (2.1%), Peru (1.7%), Ecuador (1.0%), among others.

The Central banker added that first quarter inflation was 0.16 %.