Central Bank reports that the economy grew 47.1 % in April

Héctor Valdez Albizu, governor of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, reported that economic activity grew by 47.1% in April, contrasting with the inter-annual drop of 29.8% registered in the same month last year.

“It does not constitute a simple rebound, but a sign of reactivation that has surpassed the pre-pandemic levels,” said the official.

Valdez Albizu said that this growth not only compensated for the drop registered last year, but the result even surpassed the record of April 2019, “which was a regular year without pandemic.”

“The path we have chosen to recover our growth levels is the right one,” said the Central Bank governor.

He pointed out that vaccination could promote an improvement in the growth expected at the end of the year, which could be “conservatively” 7 to 8 % at the close of this year.

He highlighted that the Dominican economy had grown an average of 11.5 % in the four months, pointing out that some sectors have registered a behavior above the levels before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the economic activities that stood out for their growth last month are construction (566.9 %), hotels, bars, and restaurants (140.7 %), free zones (82.6 %), mining (60.6 %), other service activities (48.8 %), transportation and storage (45.1 %), among others.